Life Is Getting Harder Day By Day
by Nothing's-Wrong-With-Dreaming
Summary: Dougie and Frankie break up and Dougie isn't sure how to cope. Tom, Danny, Harry, Gi, Izzy and Georgia are all out to help him but maybe that won't be enough! Set from when Dougie and Frankie broke up to when he met Lara, or further!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first McFly multi-chapter fic, I've done them before but not with McFly! So this is basically set from when Frankie and Dougie broke up to when Doug met Lara, or maybe further on! I hope that you all enjoy it and please REVIEW!**

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><p>I sat on my sofa in my flat with my girlfriend, Frankie. We had been living together for about three months and everything was going perfectly, sure we fought but pretty much every couple did. Ever since we'd got back together in March we'd been even better than before the split. There was no doubt in my mind that I loved Frankie and that she was the one. Frankie looked up at me from where her head was rested on my shoulder.<p>

"Love you babe." She said smiling at me. I grinned at her and kissed her.

"Love you too Frank." I said as she kissed me quickly.

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><p><em>Two months later:<em>

I opened the front door of mine and Frankies house and stepped inside. I'd just been at a band meeting at Tom and Gi's house about the upcoming arena tour and I was in good spirits. Tom had been running through some staging ideas with us and everything sounded awesome.

"Frank?" I asked as I hung my jacket up and slipped my shoes off. There was no reply. "Frankie?" I walked into the lounge and still couldn't see Frankie.

"Frankie?" I tried again but there was no reply. I walked into the kitchen and saw Frankie sitting at the table with tears running down her face.

"What's wrong babe?" I asked, concerned as I knelt down on the floor beside her chair. Frankie kept staring at the table, that she was sitting at, as if I hadn't said anything.

"Frank?" I murmured as I stroked her hair. "You're scaring me, what's wrong?" Frankie looked down at me and wiped her eyes quickly.  
>"Doug, sit down." She murmured. I looked at her, confused, for a moment before sitting on the chair opposite her.<p>

"What's going on?" I asked cautiously. Suddenly panic swept over me. "Your not pregnant are you?" Frankie looked at me for a moment, almost in shock, and shook her head.

"Dougie," Frankie began before looking at me and dropping her gaze quickly. "I think we should break up." I stared at her for a second, registering what she had just said.

"What?" I choked quietly.

"I don't think that we should be together any more." Frankie murmured, looking at her hands that were rested on the table. I half chuckled and half choked to myself as I ran my hand through my hair and my brain worked out what was going on, I'd never been the fastest person. Frankie looked up from the table at me, she had tears in her eyes but I just stared at her, not believing what she'd just said.

"So your just saying that this is over," I murmured, trying to slow my breathing down as it was quickly getting faster. "With no explanation." I threw my arms in the air and stood up from my chair. I ran my hand through my hair trying to calm myself down.

"Dougie, please don't be like this." Frankie pleaded, getting up and walking over to me. I flinched as she tried to take my hand.

"How do you expect me to be?" I murmured my heart breaking more and more with every word. "We've been together for over a year, Frankie. I love you and out of the blue you tell me that we're over." My voice became slightly softer and I could feel tears forming in my eyes. I looked at Frankie and saw that she had tears in her eyes too, seeing her cry made my heart break.

"I'm sorry, Doug," She said quietly. "It's just not working any more."

"It is for me." I pleaded tears rolling down my cheeks.

"I'm sorry Dougie." She repeated as she stroked my cheek. I flinched again at her touch and turned away from her. I stood silently for a second, trying to slow my breathing. Tears were pouring down my cheeks and I couldn't think straight. Frankie touched my shoulder reassuringly and I didn't flinch this time. I breathed in deeply, trying to remember what Frankies touch felt like.

"Dougie?" Frankie asked softly. I shook my head and walked towards the front door. I grabbed my jacket and my shoes and stormed out of the door. I walked as quickly as possible away from mine and Frankies house, trying to get away as fast as I could. I got in my car and sat for a minute. I had no idea what to do then, where to go. I wiped the tears from my cheeks and breathed deeply before closing my eyes and resting my head on the steering wheel. I sighed and started the ignition. I stared straight ahead of me, not really knowing where to go. I put my foot on the accelerator and started driving.

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><p>I parked my car in Toms driveway and sat in silence for a moment. I was still in shock, an entire year of happiness was over in half an hour, and the love of my life had just broken my heart. I breathed in deeply trying to calm myself and stepped out of my car. I knocked on Toms front door quietly and waited for a response. Tom opened the door and grinned at me.<p>

"Hey Doug," Tom said smiling. "What's up?" Tears began to pour down my cheeks again and I fell into Toms arms.  
>"It's over Tom, she's fucking dumped me." Tom frowned and helped me into the house.<p>

"Gi!" Tom called up the stairs. Tom took me into the living room and sat me on the sofa as tears continued to stream from my eyes. Gi, Toms girlfriend, came into the room and looked at Tom questionably.

"I'm sorry guys." I murmured. "I didn't know where else to go."

"Don't be silly Doug," Gi said kindly.

"What the hell happened, dude?" Tom asked.

"I don't know," I murmured. "I've got no fucking idea."

"It's going to be okay, you know?" Tom said rubbing my back. "Danny, Harry and I, we're here for you, mate. Whatever you need." I smiled at him slightly.

"Thanks man." I said quietly. Gi came over and gave me a hug and things didn't seem so bad with Tom and Gi around.

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><p>I cried for a little while longer, mourning the best relationship that I'd ever had, Tom and Gi comforting me the whole time. I knew that since my stability with Frankie was gone everything would be different now. It could take me years to get over her, she was the best thing, apart from McFly, that had ever happened to me. I was so used to being with her now that I wasn't really sure who I was without her.<p>

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><p>Tom and Gi suggested that I stayed in their guest room for the night as they didn't want me driving home in the 'state' that I was in. I was very grateful for their hospitality and I was secretly very happy that it meant that I didn't have to go home. I excused myself from dinner, which I didn't eat, I wasn't hungry, and went to bed. I showered quickly and sat in Tom and Gi's spare room by myself in silence. It was the first quiet that I'd heard in a few hours and I felt slightly overwhelmed. My mind was buzzing and I couldn't think properly. I could hear Tom and Gi watching TV quietly downstairs and I felt so bad that I had intruded into their home even though they had kept reassuring me that I was family and was always welcome. I lay down on the bed and opened my phone.<p>

_Four texts from Frankie_

_Two texts from Harry_

_One missed call from Frankie_

_Two missed calls from Harry_

Curiously I opened the texts from Frankie.

_Where r u Dougie? Hope ur ok! Plz txt back! F x_

_Dougie! Plz just let me no ur ok! F x_

_I'm worrying now! Let me know your ok! x_

I deleted all of the texts and ran my hand through my damp hair. I opened the texts from Harry and smiled to myself.

_Hey mate! Is everything ok, ur not answering ur fone? H_

_Dude, no 1s at ur house, where r u? H_

It was nice to know that I had support from my best mates. I quickly typed a reply to Harry.

_Mate! I'm ok, at Toms. Will tell u 2moz!_

I put my phone on the table next to my bed and lay for a while staring at the ceiling. My mind would not shut up. Everything was whizzing around my head at fifty miles an hour and I closed my eyes and tried to get to sleep. My eyes began to water as flashbacks of times that Frankie and I had spent together flashed in front of my eyes. I groaned and rubbed my eyes, trying to stop the images.

"Shut up." I exclaimed quietly to myself. I rolled over and squeezed my eyes shut again as I tried to get to sleep.

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><p><strong>AN Thank you so much for reading! Please review! I'll try and update this soon! xxx  
><strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it took so long for me to write and upload this but I hope that you enjoy it! Please review!**

Tom's POV:

My eyes opened slowly and I started to wake up. I instinctively tightened my arms around Gi's waist as she lay next to me. She was still sleeping so I gently kissed her hair before getting out of bed. I wiped my eyes and slowly walked down the stairs. I tiredly walked into the kitchen and filled the kettle with water. I sat at the breakfast bar as I waited for the kettle to boil. I ran my hand through my hair and sighed to myself, worrying about Dougie. I could tell that the break-up had effected him much more than he was letting on, he had still been slightly in shock yesterday. I heard the kettle stop so I got up and poured myself a cup of coffee to wake me up. I heard quiet footsteps coming quietly down the stairs. I turned as Gi walked into the kitchen with bed hair and sleepy looking eyes but she looked gorgeous. I smiled at her and kissed her quickly.

"Morning." She murmured quietly.

"Morning," I replied running my fingers through her hair. "Do you want some coffee?" She nodded and I poured her a mug. She sat at the breakfast bar and sipped at her coffee. I sat on the kitchen worktop and drank my coffee, watching Gi. She finished her coffee quickly and pulled her hair into a ponytail. She stood up and smiled at me, it not reaching her eyes. She was worried about Doug, I could tell.

"I'll make some breakfast," She announced. I smiled and wrapped my arms around her as she walked towards me. I kissed her quickly and she smiled sadly against my lips. "Can you go and ask Dougie if he wants any breakfast?" I smiled at Gi.

"Course, be back in a sec." I said. I turned away from Gi and went upstairs. I knocked on Dougies door quietly.

"Doug?" I whispered. "Doug, do you want some breakfast?" There was no reply so I opened the door slowly and peeked into the spare room. The sheets on the bed were messy and Dougie was nowhere to be seen. I opened the door properly and scanned the room, Dougie wasn't there.

"Shit." I muttered to myself. "Gi!" I called down the stairs as I ran down the stairs as quickly as I could. "Gi!" I called again. Gi ran out of the kitchen looking worried.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"Dougie's not in his room!" I exclaimed as I began to panic. Panic flashed over Gi's face but she calmed down quickly. She took my face in her hands and looked into my eyes.

"Tom, calm down, okay?" She asked. "Just try calling him, before you start panicking." I grabbed the phone and dialled Dougies mobile number. It rang for a few seconds before going to voicemail. I put the phone down and looked at Gi, shaking my head.

"I'm sure he's fine," Gi murmured, half to herself and half to me. "He's probably gone for a walk, or to Harry's, or home." I nodded slightly and picked up the phone again.

"Hello?" Harry's tired voice whispered from the other end of the phone.

"Harry it's me." I said, urgency in my voice.

"Oh, hey Tom," Harry said yawning. "What's up?"

"Is Doug with you?" I asked quickly, running my hand through my hair.

"No," Harry said slowly. "Why? Tom's what's going on? He wouldn't answer my calls yesterday." I shook my head at Gi to tell her that Dougie wasn't with Harry.

"Frankie dumped Doug," I said slowly. I heard Harry choke on the other side of the phone, probably from shock. "He stayed with us last night, he was pretty messed up and he's gone. We don't know where he is." I heard Harry sigh.

"I wouldn't worry that much, mate," Harry said. "You know Doug, he probably just wants some time to himself."

"I suppose," I murmured. "You just should've seen him, dude. He was in pieces."

"If he's not back in three hours, give me a call and I'll help you look for him." Harry said calmly with a hint of panic in his voice.

"Okay, I'll see you later." I said as I hung up the phone. Gi looked at me sympathetically and I wrapped my arms around her. She rested her head on my chest and stroked my back.

"He'll come back." Gi murmured. "We're probably worrying about nothing." I nodded and kissed her quickly.

"You're probably right." I said smiling slightly.

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><p>I checked my watch anxiously and sighed to myself. It had been over two hours since I had woken up and discovered Dougie's absence. Gi had headed over to Danny's house, across the road, to find out if they'd heard anything and inform them of the situation. It had started raining about half an hour ago and it didn't look like it was going to stop any time soon. I jumped as I heard the phone ring. I got up from the sofa slowly and picked up the phone.<p>

"Tom?" I heard a familiar voice say.

"Dougie?" I asked quickly. "Where the hell are you?"

"I'm outside the pub. The one near Frankie's old flat."

"What?" I asked worriedly. "Doug, that's miles away." Doug laughed harshly.

"Yeah, I suppose it is," he murmured. "Do you think you could pick me up?"

"Of course, mate," I said as I got up and pulled my jacket on. "I'll be there as soon as I can." I hung up the phone and ran towards the front door. I grabbed a piece of paper from the table near the door and wrote Gi a note.

_Gi,_

_Doug called. I'm picking him up! He sounds fine, I'll ring you when I find him!_

_T xx_

I left the note on the side and ran out of the front door, the rain soaking me instantly.

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><p>I drove as quickly as I could along the twisting roads of the outskirts of London. I could remember where Frankie's old flat had been but not the pub specifically. When I saw a building or landmark that I recognised I used my memory to try and remember the route. I drove along the road that lead to Frankie's flat and saw Doug standing on the other side of the road, leaning against a lamppost. He was soaking wet and his hair was pressed against his forehead. He was staring up at Frankie's flat and I could tell that he had been crying, his eyes were puffy and he had dark circles under them. I guess Harry had been right, he just needed some time to himself. I pulled up next to Dougie and he looked up as the car approached him. He saw me inside and smiled half-heartedly. I grinned at him from inside the car, out of relief, and motioned for him to get in. He got into the car and lay his head against the back of the seat, exhaling sharply. I turned the heating on in the car, immediately when I noticed that Doug was shivering. Dougie and I sat in silence for a minute.<p>

"What happened Doug?" I asked quietly. Dougie turned his head in response and shot me a exasperated look.

"I just went out for a walk." He said shrugging.

"Dougie..." I said and he looked at me again.

"I just needed some time." He said as he ran his hand through his hair. I nodded understandingly and patted his shoulder in comfort.

"You could've told us where you were going, we were worried sick," I said. "Gi's going to kill you by the way." Dougie laughed and I smiled to him.

"Anyway, let's go home." I said as I started the car again. I heard my phone ring in my pocket and I took it out quickly. I saw that Gi was calling me so I placed my phone on the dashboard and answered the call on loudspeaker.

"Thomas Michael Fletcher, where the hell are you?" Gi said angrily. I heard Doug chuckled beside me and I smiled to myself.

"Don't worry honey, it's all good," I said calmly. "I've got Doug and we're coming home. We'll be like half an hour." I heard Gi sigh in relief.

"Good!" Gi said. "And don't think you're getting away with worrying us to death, Dougie!" Doug and I laughed as Gi hung up the phone.

"Told you, mate." I said smiling.

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><p><strong>AN: Thank you all so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it and I'll try to update fairly soon! :D REVIEW PLEASE!  
><strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N; Hey guys! This chapter is pretty short so I'm sorry about that! And I really hope that you enjoy it even though it's really uneventful! Sorry! Don't worry, interesting stuff in the next chapter!**

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><p><span>Dougie's POV:<span>

My mind was whirring. I stared ahead of me, trying to slow my thoughts. I hadn't slept a wink the night before, my mind had been screaming at me and my emotions were all over the place. Everything with Frankie had happened so fast, it still didn't seem real. I glanced at the clock on the dashboard of Tom's car and saw that it was 2:30, we had been driving for about half an hour. I ran my hand through my hair and exhaled loudly. I placed my feet on the dashboard and bent my knees. I rested my elbows on my knees and put my head in my hands. I ruffled my hair with my hands as I tried to remember why I had left the house this morning. I remembered wanting to go for a walk since sleeping had proved impossible but my journey was a blur.  
>"Dougie!" I heard Tom say, probably after him having to repeat himself several times. I looked up quickly to see him glancing at me worriedly before turning back to look at the road.<p>

"Sorry mate." I murmured.

"You sure you're okay?" He asked worriedly. I nodded slowly.

"Yeah dude, I'll be fine." He glanced at me again and I could feel my head beginning to ache, as it had done all night. I didn't want Tom to worry about me, or Dan or Harry, they had their own problems, their own lives. They'd always had to look after me, I was the baby of the band, they shouldn't have to worry about me any more. I'm not a kid.

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><p>"Dougie?" Gi asked as she rushed out of the front door. She pulled me into a tight hug and I couldn't help but laugh slightly. Gi pulled away and held my face in her hands, looking into my eyes.<p>

"Are you okay? You're not hurt are you?" I smiled slightly at her. Gi always did worry too much.

"Gi, I'm fine, honestly." I said as she lead me into the house.

"Don't you ever scare us like that again, Dougie Poynter," Gi said forcefully.

"Sorry," I said as I hung my jacket up. "I won't, promise."

"Good," Gi murmured. "Do you want some tea?" I nodded quickly.

"Thanks Gi," I said.

"No problem hun."

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><p>Danny, Harry, Georgia and Izzy all came round to Tom's later in the day, to 'check that I was okay.' It was great to see them and it did lift my mood, a good distraction. They were all so happy together, perfect couples, it made me miss Frankie even more. Mostly the day went by very quietly. Tom made Gi and I dinner and I went to bed straight away as exhaustion had started to wash over me due to my complete lack of sleep from the night before. I lay in my room as I had done the day before and tried desperately to get to sleep, but as the day before, I couldn't.<p>

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><p>It had been a week since my disappearing act and everyone was still being very careful around me, it was obvious. Tom and Gi had let me stay at their house but I knew that I'd have to move back home soon, I couldn't continue to be a burden. I had been home briefly to pick up some of my things, some clothes and important things but I had left as quickly as possible, there were too many memories. Things had slowly been getting better. I had been able to sleep at nights, not for long but for long enough to keep going. Gi and Tom had been taking great care of me and they, and the others, had been so supportive. I hadn't seen or spoken to Frankie since the split and I definitely wasn't planning on changing that. Tom, Harry and Dan had been trying desperately to cheer me up and it was helping slightly. They kept distracting me from my problems and that was especially helping. My head just seemed messed up and everything seemed so complicated. Luckily, everything seemed to be getting better, slowly.<p>

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><p><strong>AN; So I'm sorry that it's so short and uneventful! The good stuff is coming, promised! :D REVIEW PLEASE! xxxx  
><strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry it's been so long! Anyway this chapter is pretty uneventful and a bit crap but the next one'll be better! I promise!**

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><p>Everything had been really busy, which was good, it had kept me distracted. Danny, Harry, Tom and I had been on the road a lot, promoting the new album. Everything had been getting easier but some days were much worse than others. When I had busy days, where I spent all day with the guys, everything went quickly, I didn't have any time to worry about anything. The album promotion had been going well and it had been given great reviews. I had been home a couple of times since the break-up to see that Frankie had moved all of her stuff out. Gi had insisted that I stay at her and Tom's house at least until the album promotion was over and I reluctantly agreed. I appreciated their kindness and hospitality but I wanted to get back in my house with my things.<p>

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><p>"Doug?" Tom asked. I looked up from my daydream to see Tom looking down at me. He looked at me worriedly and I smiled. He gestured for me to follow him and I nodded. I stood up from my chair and joined Harry and Danny in front of the white sheet. The photographer took a couple of pictures and told us to change where we standing. We did and he took a couple more photos. I felt a hand on my shoulder as the camera flashed again.<p>

"You okay dude?" Harry asked. I smiled at him as the camera flashed again.

"Yeah," I said smiling slightly. Harry smiled at me and nudged my shoulder.

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><p>The rest of the photo shoot was pretty uneventful. We took lots of different photos and the photographer showed us some. They looked good, I even looked sort of happy in some of them. After the photo shoot we all changed back into our normal clothes and sat down with a girl called Sarah for an interview. Since the information that Frankie and I had split up had gotten out I expected Sarah to ask me some questions about it, and she did. She asked us about the new sound and the album a lot, which Tom and Danny answered mostly. I liked to stay quiet as much as possible, especially now. When Sarah got to the awkward question about why Frankie and I had broken up and how I was coping I tried my best to be honest.<p>

"I'm not really sure to be honest," I said shrugging, trying to sound casual. "I thought everything was going pretty well but apparently not." Sarah smiled sympathetically at me and Harry put his arm around my shoulders.

"Truth is, she was jealous of Doug and I." Harry said and we all laughed.

"Pudd all the way!" Tom exclaimed. We all started laughing again and got back to the interview.

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><p>I shut the front door of Tom's house as quietly as I could and stepped into the beautiful house. I could hear Gi and Tom talking in the kitchen so I wiped my feet and headed towards the kitchen. After the photo shoot I had headed to the pub with Harry and had a few pints with him. Tom had headed straight home to spend some time with Gi as she was going on holiday with her friend Kara for over a week at the weekend. I walked into the kitchen to see Tom and Gi sitting at the table in quiet conversation. They looked up as I walked into the room and Gi smiled at me.<p>

"Hey," Gi said. "Did you have a nice time at the pub?" I nodded.

"Yeah it was alright," I replied. I ran my hand through my hair.

"Good," Gi said. "Dinner will be ready in a couple of minutes." I smiled at her and sat down next to Tom at the table.

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><p><strong>AN Thanks so much for reading! I hope that you all liked it... at least a little bit! If any of you have anything you'd like to be included or something please review and let me know!**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Kate xxxx  
><strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm sorry that this has taken a while but I found it hard to write!**

**I hope that you all like it and as promised something actually happens in this chapter!**

**If you have any feedback or ideas that would be great so please review or message me!**

**I hope that you like it! :D xx**

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><p>I shut my front door behind and me and stood leaning against it for a moment. I looked around my hall and noticed how big it looked without all of Frankie's things in it. I had got used to staying at Tom and Gi's house and it seemed strange to be standing in my house again. I threw my beanie and keys onto the small table in the hall and dumped my bag near the door. I walked into the living room and stood there for a minute. Everything looked empty and the room looked way too big. Everything that I'd felt about the break-up seemed ten times worse now that I was in our house and this is where everything had happened. I looked over to the mantelpiece and saw a picture of Frankie and I, her favourite picture. I went over to the mantelpiece and picked up the photo. I held it in my hands and carefully traced the picture with my fingers. Tears began to roll down my face. I saw how happy I looked in the photo, and how happy Frankie looked. I threw the picture frame across the room as hard as I could and screamed to myself. The frame smashed against the wall that as opposite me and I raised my hands to my hair. I pulled at my hair for a second as I continued to sop. I picked up another photo frame from the mantelpiece and threw it.<p>

"Fuck!" I yelled as I threw another picture. I slid down the wall and sat with my head in my hands as I continued to cry to myself. I ran my hand through my hair and stared straight ahead of me, tears rolling down my cheeks furiously.

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><p>I sat sobbing for about half an hour until I finally calmed down. I left the broken glass as it was on the floor and stood up. My eyes were puffy and my face was red. I walked into the kitchen and searched the cupboards for what I was looking for. I found the full bottle of vodka and pulled it out of the cupboard. I unscrewed the cap quickly and took a big gulp from the bottle. I felt the familiar burning, that I'd felt hundreds of other times, in my throat as I swallowed the liquid. I sighed to myself and walked back into the living room. I took another big gulp and yelled in annoyance as I heard the phone ring loudly. Everything was so loud and angry.<p>

"Shut the fuck up!" I shouted as the phone continued to ring. I swallowed another mouthful of vodka and felt my head begin to spin slightly. I slumped down on the couch as the phone stopped ringing. I looked at the bottle that I held in my hands and drowned my sorrows.

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><p><span>Tom's POV:<span>

"I'll see you later hun," Gi said as she kissed me quickly.

"Yeah, love you." I said as I picked up my bag and flung it over my shoulder.

"Love you too." Gi said as I shut the front door. Gi and I had gotten used to Dougie being in the house and now that he had gone home, it seemed pretty quiet. The guys and I were headed to another day of interviews to promote the album. Danny and Harry were going together and I had said that I'd take Doug. I jumped into my Mini and put my bag in the passenger seat. I put the key in the ignition and drove quickly to Dougie's house.

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><p>I got out of the car quickly and shut the door behind me. Dougie's car was parked in front of the house and all of the lights were off. The house looked pretty lifeless but that didn't worry me, it was pretty early, knowing Doug he wouldn't be up yet. Harry had told him the other day that we had interviews today and that he'd have to be up, clearly he hadn't listened. I walked up to Dougie's front door and knocked loudly. I waited for a second. There was no response.<p>

"Dougie?" I called as I knocked again. Again there was no response.

"Dougie! C'mon dude, we've got to get going!" I yelled. I finally heard some movement from inside. I heard the lock click on the door and Dougie opened the door slowly. Dougie looked like crap. He was pale, he had dark shadows under his eyes, his hair was messy. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, a pained expression on his face.

"Mate, you look like crap." I said laughing slightly. Dougie groaned and covered his ears.

"Stop yelling," He murmured quietly as he walked back into the house.

"I wasn't," I said as I followed him into the house. I shut the front door behind me. "Dude, how much did you drink last night?" I followed Dougie into the living room to see smashed glass everywhere.

"What the hell happened in here?" I asked, trying to keep my voice down for Doug's sake. Dougie just turned to me and shook his head. I looked around the room and saw what a state it was. The curtains were closed and there was broken glass all over the floor. I looked down and saw a broken photo frame by my foot. It as a picture of Dougie and Frankie that had been taken at mine and Giovanna's new years eve party last year. Dougie was grinning and Frankie was kissing his cheek, they looked really happy. I picked up the picture carefully and fan my fingers over it, careful of the broken glass.

"Doug," I sighed. "Mate this isn't good." Dougie looked around the room and then looked at me. He looked ashamed of himself and really vulnerable. Dougie suddenly turned even paler than he had been. He looked at me for a sec before running towards the kitchen. I didn't follow him because I knew what was happening. I heard Dougie gagging in the other room and then he threw up. It wasn't a pleasant sound. Whilst Dougie was in the kitchen I tried to pick up some of the glass that was on the floor so he wouldn't hurt himself any more. As I went further into the room I saw that there were a couple more picture frames on the floor, surrounded by broken glass. I picked them up and placed them on the table carefully. I picked up the bigger pieces of glass as best I could. Dougie stopped gagging in the other room and I turned around to see an empty vodka bottle on the floor. I picked it up and looked at it carefully. The bottle was completely empty.

"Doug?" I called. Dougie grunted in response. "You didn't drink all of this did you?" Dougie didn't reply he just walked back into the living room and looked at me.

"Dougie?"  
>"Tom, I just wanted a fucking drink." Doug said quietly.<p>

"Doug, you drank a whole bottle of vodka." I murmured. He looked at me for a second and I sighed.

"Look mate, just go upstairs and sort yourself out. We've got to be at the TV studio in forty-five minutes. I'll make you some coffee, that'll make you feel better." Dougie smiled at me thankfully and trudged slowly up the stairs, rubbing his head as he went. I sat down slowly on the sofa and took my phone out.

"Hello?" I heard Gi's familiar voice say from the other end of the phone.

"Hey, it's me." I said quietly as I ran my hand through my hair.

"Hey hun." Gi said happily. "What's going on? You at the studio yet?"

"No, I'm still at Doug's actually," I said.

"What's wrong?" Gi said worriedly. I laughed to myself slightly.

"Doug's completely hammered." I said quietly. "He drank a whole bottle of vodka and there's smashed photo frames everywhere. I think he threw them at the wall."

"Oh my god, is he okay?" Gi asked, she sounded worried.

"I hope so," I said slowly. "He feels like crap, he's been throwing up."

"I'm not surprised." Gi said.

"I'm just kinda worried about him," I said. "I mean he's always liked a drink but he's never drunk this much before and he must have been in a state to cause so much mess."

"Promise you'll make sure he's okay before you leave?" Gi asked.

"Yeah," I said. "I'll call you after the interview."

"Okay," Gi said. "I love you."

"I love you too." I said before hanging up the phone. I ran my hand through my hair again and stood up from the sofa. I went to the kitchen and started to make Dougie some coffee.

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><p><strong>AN: Thank you so much for reading! I hope that you enjoyed it!**

**Please review and let me know what you think!**

**Kate xxx  
><strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: So I hope that you all like this chapter! Since the main bromance in this story has been Floynter so far I thought I'd have some Pudd in this one! I really hope that you all like it! Please review and let me know what you think and if you'd like anything to happen, it would be nice to know!**

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><p>It had been a couple of weeks since I had moved back into my house by myself and everything had calmed down a bit. The album had been released and done okay in the charts. Promotion had slowed down and our schedules were nowhere near as busy. Giovanna had been really worried about me after what happened when I first moved back in but I had managed to calm her down and promise that it wouldn't be mind. Gi worried about me so much it was like she was my mum. Harry had been worried about me too, so had Tom, I could tell. They were being extra careful around me, never mentioning Frankie, not really leaving me on my own. It was getting a bit irritating to be honest.<p>

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><p>I had the day off and absolutely nothing planned. I guys were probably all out with their girlfriends so I had decided to just stay in. I was starting to get used to living on my own again. The house didn't seem so big any more and once I had gotten rid off all the photographs of Frankie and I it seemed much more welcoming. I was trying to start again, no reminders. That just meant that I had to stay away from pretty much anywhere that sold magazines. I hadn't found that too hard so far considering I didn't read magazines anyway. I lay on the sofa and stared at the TV, not really watching what was on it. From what I'd gathered it was some sitcom but I wasn't really interested. Dan, Harry and Tom had been so supportive to me since the break-up, sometimes overly so. Izzy, Georgia and especially Gi had been lovely too, they were all really awesome friends. I was disrupted from my thoughts by the sound of my front door opening. I didn't bother sitting up because if it was someone who could just walk into my house, it was probably one of the guys. I was slightly surprised when Harry walked into the living room. I'd thought that he had been out with Izzy or his best friend Ben, he usually was when we had some free time.<p>

"Hey mate," Harry said as he walked into the room. He didn't look surprised to see me lying causally on the sofa.  
>"Hey," I said quietly as Harry took a seat on the other sofa. I turned off the TV and sat up. "Do you want some tea?"<p>

"Sure," Harry said. "I'll get it." He stood up and walked into the kitchen. After a couple of minutes Harry came back into the room and handed me a mug of tea.

"Thanks," I murmured as he handed me the mug. He sat back down on the other sofa and took a sip of his tea. "So what you doing here? I thought you'd be out with Izzy or something."

"What? Can't I come and visit my mate if I want to?" He asked, sounding jokingly offended. I laughed slightly and looked at him.

"I know you're checking up on my Harry." I said quietly. Harry looked at me.

"Mate, I'm not checking up on you, why would I be?"

"You and Tom," I said looking down. "You're worried about me." Harry cleared his throat and looked at me from across the room.

"Mate, it's just..." Harry looked down. "We weren't sure if you were coping."

"Harry, I'm fine, honestly," I looked into his eyes. "I mean I still love her, I'm not over it. That could take me years. I've just got to get used to it, it's getting better."

"Doug, I know it's gonna be hard and crappy and, this sounds really cheesy but, it is going to get better. Everything's gonna get back to normal and you're going to meet someone better." He said. I smiled at him, not really believing what he'd just said. It was true that everything was getting better but I couldn't imagine my life ever getting back to how it had been or ever feeling as happy as I had done with Frankie. No one was ever going to be as right for me as she was and I was never going to love someone as much as I loved her. It all seemed impossible.

"Doug?" Harry's voice interrupted me from my thoughts.

"Mhm?" I asked as I lifted my head in response.  
>"Are you sure you're okay?" Harry asked.<p>

"I'm fine Harry, I'm fucking fine!" I exclaimed. "Why can't you all just stop treating me like a kid! I'm freaking twenty-three! I'm not a kid! I can take care of myself!" I stood up off the sofa and ran my hand through my hair trying to calm myself down. Harry stayed sitting, looking up at me. We stayed silent for a moment, my breathing slowing and Harry sitting in silence.

"I understand better than you think, dude," Harry said calmly. I had my back to him so I couldn't see his face. "We all do. Maybe you should just try and let us all help you. We want to. Dude, we're your friends, we care about you and we don't like seeing you hurt so maybe just let us in." He sounded slightly bitter at the end. He stood up and walked past me. I heard the front door shut and I let myself fall onto the sofa again. Tears began to roll down my cheeks and I could feel sobs building up in my chest. I ran my hand through my hair as I began to sob loudly to myself. After everything that was going on, I was now pushing my best friends away too.

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><p><strong><span>AN: I hope that you all liked it! Please review to let me what you know!**

**I feel so bad for Doug when I write this and I'm trying to make it as true to life as I can, even though obviously none of us know what actually happened so I'm sorry if some of it sounds a bit far fetched or rubbish or something!**

**Thanks so much for reading! REVIEW!**

**Kate xxxx  
><strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N****: So I apologize in advance for this chapter, I don't like it very much but I hope that you guys do!**

**Please review to let me know what you think or if you want anything specific to happen or any ideas! PLEASE!  
><strong>

**Thanks!**

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><p>I sat in my spare room with my lyric book in front of me and my acoustic guitar in my hand by myself. I'd been trying to write a song for a couple of hours and I was finding it really hard. I'd come up with a chord sequence that I was quite happy with and I was working on the melody, it was the lyrics I was struggling with. I hadn't seen Harry since our discussion and I was kinda worried about it, that maybe he was mad at me. Everything had been really quiet recently and it was nice. I'd spoken to my mum and Jazzie the other day and it was nice to talk to them again. I hadn't seen them in a while and I really didn't talk to them enough so I missed them a lot. I had planned to go back up to Essex next week to see my Mum and I was looking forward to it, I hadn't seen her since the break-up. I played the chord sequence through again and hummed the melody that I'd come up with as I played. It sounded all right. Once I'd written the lyrics I'd have to get Tom to look at it, he'd make it better. I heard the front door open downstairs.<p>

"Doug?" I heard Tom's voice call from downstairs.

"Up here." I said. I heard Tom run up the stairs and he appeared in the doorway.

"Hey mate," Tom said.

"Hey," I said. Tom walked into the room. I looked up at Tom and he had a guilty expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Dude, something's happened," He sounded upset.

"What?" I looked at him. "Is it Gi? What's going on?" Tom shook his head and I noticed that he had something in his hand. Tom threw something at me and it landed on the sofa next to me. I looked down at it and saw a scrunched up magazine.

"What's this?" I asked quietly as I picked it up. Tom stayed silent as I held the magazine in my hands and looked at the front page. On the front page there was a big picture of Frankie with some bloke that I'd never seen in my life.

"Who the fuck is he?" I asked. As I looked at the photo more carefully I realised that Frankie and the bloke were holding hands.

"Some footballer," Tom said quietly. I looked at the photo again, hardly believing what was in front of me. It seemed that I'd finally found out why Frankie broke up with me, she was probably fucking a footballer behind my back.

"I'm so sorry Dougs," Tom said. "I thought it'd be better if I told you than if you heard it out of the blue." I shook my head quickly.

"No, no," I said frowning, not taking my eyes off the magazine that was in front of me. "It's better that you told me, thanks." I stared at it for a moment, Tom still standing in front of me. I could barely formulate any words I was so shocked. I tried to say something but nothing would come out of my mouth. I felt Tom sit down beside me and he rested his hand comfortingly on my shoulder.

"You alright?" He asked me quietly. I nodded ever so slightly but I could tell that Tom wasn't buying it. I could feel tears forming in my eyes and I tried to hide it as best I could. I cleared my throat quietly and looked at Tom.

"Yeah," I said trying to smile convincingly. "I mean she's moving on, I'm moving on." I wanted Tom to leave, I wanted to be on my own. I wanted to get drunk, so drunk that I couldn't remember who the hell Frankie was. I could feel Tom looking at me and I glanced at him quickly. He nodded to himself.

"Alright mate, I get it," He said as he stood up. He paused and put his hands in his pockets. "Call me if you need anything." He turned to walk out of the room and then stopped.

"By the way, Harry feels terrible." He looked at me for a second, making sure I understood what he meant then he turned and I heard him walk down the stairs. I heard the front door shut and let the tears fall from my eyes. My face fell into my hands and I felt like screaming. I gripped my hair with my hands and pulled as hard as I could, taking my aggression out on myself. Everything that I'd felt six weeks ago was rushing the surface again, but much worse. I'd been able to keep my anger and feelings controlled to some extent over the last few weeks and I hadn't broken down since the night I returned to my house but now everything seemed so overwhelming again. I looked at the magazine one more time, tears running down my cheeks. I picked up the magazine and ripped it up. I threw the pieces onto the floor and threw my guitar on the floor. I had an almost uncontrollable urge to start drinking but I decided against it and picked up my guitar again. I grabbed my lyric book and started to scribble down words and phrases.

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><p><strong>Tom's POV:<strong>

I walked out of Dougie's house, worried out of my mind. I hadn't really wanted to tell Doug about the article but Gi and Harry had told me that I should, apparently it would be better coming from me. I walked away as quickly as I could trying to forget the look on Dougie's face when I'd left. He had looked so heartbroken, so hurt. I didn't want to leave, I knew what had happened last time he'd been by himself in a bad situation, but I could tell that he wanted to be alone. I'd call him later to make sure that he was okay or wasn't drunk out of his mind. I got into my car and stared out the windscreen for a moment. I really wished I could help Doug, we all did but he wasn't letting us in, as Harry had said. We wanted to help but we couldn't, he wouldn't let us. Things had been a bit tense between Dougie and Harry since they'd had their 'discussion.' Harry felt terrible, he felt like he'd been so harsh to Dougie and that he probably hated him. From what I could tell Doug wasn't in the slightest bit angry towards Harry. It was probably just a lack of communication, Izzy would probably make Harry sort it out soon. I put my key into the ignition and started the engine.

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><p>I shut my front door behind me and saw Marvin appear by my feet. I smiled and picked him up. I carried him to the living room, where I could hear the TV. Gi was sitting on the sofa with her laptop on her knee, typing away and the TV was on in the background. She was still in her pyjamas, even though it was past mid-day, and she wasn't wearing any make-up. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun on top of her head and I couldn't help but smile, she looked so beautiful. She looked up as I walked in and smiled at me. I set Marvin back down on the floor and he jumped on the sofa and snuggled into Gi's leg. I walked over to her and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. I fell onto the sofa and ran my hand through my hair.<p>

"What did Doug say? Is he okay?" Gi asked, sounding worried. She looked at me, concerned.

"I don't know," I said shrugging. "I mean obviously he was pretty shocked. He seemed pretty angry." Gi sighed.

"Maybe you should have stayed with him, to make sure he was okay," Gi suggested. I shook my head slowly.

"He wanted to be on his own," I muttered. "That much was obvious. I just hope he doesn't flip again." Gi nodded and buried her head into my chest. I wrapped my arm around her and kissed her hair.

"I hope he's okay." Gi murmured.

"Me too." I said, kissing her hair again and rubbing her back.

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><p><strong>AN: I hope that you liked it!  
><strong>

**Please let me know what you all thought because I'm not too sure about this chapter!  
>Anything you want to happen or ideas?<br>**

**Thank you sooo much!  
><strong>

**Kate xxxxx  
><strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I hope that you all like this! I managed to write it quite quickly so I hope that it's not crap!**

**I thought that Alone Again fit pretty well and I know that Doug probably didn't write it but I thought it fit the situation pretty well!**

**I hope that you all enjoy this and please let me know what you all thought!  
>This chapter is more about Tom and Gi than Doug but the next couple of chapters will be more centered around Dougie and his problems!<strong>

**Enjoy!**

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><p>I heard a knock on the door and I opened my eyes slowly. I rubbed my eyes and felt Gi move next to me. I sat up slowly and glanced at Gi. She had half opened her eyes and she was looking around the room with a confused expression on her face. I glanced at the clock and saw that it had just past seven. I heard another knock on the door and I slipped out of bed slowly. Marvin, Leia and Aroura were all asleep at the end of the bed and I smiled to myself as Leia yawned in her sleep. I looked over at Gi. She saw that I'd got up and snuggled back into bed and closed her eyes again. I pulled on a pair of boxers, some tracksuit bottoms and a white t-shirt and went down the stairs as quietly as I could. I heard another knock and I sighed to myself. I rubbed my eyes again, trying to wake myself up a bit. It was way too early to be up and I hadn't had any coffee. I fumbled around for the key to open the door. After a moment I did and I opened the door slowly. I ran my hand through my hair to try and neaten it up a bit and rubbed my eyes again. Dougie was standing in the doorway looking even worse than I probably did. He had dark circles under his eyes and looked absolutely exhausted. To my relief he didn't look drunk or hungover though. He was smiling though, grinning bigger than I'd seen him grin in a long time.<p>

"Doug?" I asked. "What are you doing here? It's seven in the morning." Dougie just grinned even bigger and walked into the hall. He handed me a small book which was covered in doodles.

"What?" I asked as I flipped the book over in my hands. Doug sighed dramatically and took the book from my hand. He opened it to a page that was full of words and arrows.

"It's a song." He said, sounding so proud of himself.  
>"Awesome Doug," I said trying to be supportive. "But why have you brought it round at seven in the morning?"<p>

"I'm just really excited about it," He said happily. I looked at him and smiled slightly. He seemed so normal, almost like he had been before the break-up. It was nice to see but his mood concerned me slightly. Why was he acting so normally, happy almost? Why wasn't he upset? Dougie handed the book back to me and I looked at the lyrics carefully. I suddenly realised why Dougie wasn't the emotional mess that I'd expected. He'd written a song about everything he was feeling. Letting your emotions out in song was always a good way to letting out your feelings, I'd used it many times. Mostly when Gi and I were fighting. I was just so glad that Dougie wasn't hammered like last time. I beckoned for Dougie to follow me into the living room. I smiled as convincingly as I could at Dougie and took one of the guitars off of the wall. I handed it to Doug.

"Go on then play it." I said. He grinned at me and sat down on the sofa, the guitar on his lap. I handed him the book and he set it in front of him. He started playing a chord sequence on the guitar and then he began to sing his lyrics.

_Tell me I'm wrong, tell me I'm right_  
><em>Tell me you want me<em>  
><em>Was it a choice, was it a lie<em>  
><em>Do you despise me?<em>  
><em>Figure it out, there's never a doubt<em>  
><em>I wanna hold you<em>  
><em>Tell me your plans, give me a chance<em>  
><em>I'll work around 'em<em>  
><em>Yeah<em>

_It's alright, I don't even know where to begin_  
><em>It takes time, you know you'll always end up with him<em>  
><em>It's alright, it's ok<em>  
><em>It's alright<em>  
><em>Yeah<em>

_I want, to take you far away_  
><em>Now I've, got nothing left to say<em>  
><em>How can, I be alone again<em>  
><em>I want, to take you far away<em>  
><em>Now I've, got nothing left to say<em>  
><em>How can, I be alone again<em>

_Tell me I'm wrong, tell me I'm right_  
><em>Tell me you want me<em>  
><em>Was it a choice, was it a lie<em>  
><em>Do you despise me?<em>  
><em>Yeah<em>

_It's alright, I don't even know where to begin_  
><em>It takes time, you know you'll always end up with him<em>  
><em>It's alright, it's ok<em>  
><em>It's alright<em>  
><em>Yeah<em>

_I want, to take you far away_  
><em>Now I've, got nothing left to say<em>  
><em>How can, I be alone again<em>  
><em>I want, to take you far away<em>  
><em>Now I've, got nothing left to say<em>  
><em>How can, I be alone again<em>

_This feeling's, getting stronger_  
><em>Ooh this feeling's, getting stronger<em>  
><em>This feeling's, getting stronger<em>

_Yeah_

_I want, to take you far away_  
><em>Now I've, got nothing left to say<em>  
><em>How can, I be alone again<em>  
><em>I want, to take you far away<em>  
><em>Now I've, got nothing left to say<em>  
><em>How can, I be alone again<em>

I tried my best to smiled at Doug as he finished. The song was great, no doubt about that. The lyrics worried me though. The way Dougie sang them, I've never heard him sing like that before. His voice was full of so much pain and he had to wait a moment after he finished the song, he looked like he was going to cry but he didn't. I looked at him and he smiled carefully. I smiled back as best I could.

"That's awesome Dougs," I said. "Really, it's great." He grinned at me and he sighed in relief. I could hear Gi walking slowly down the stairs.

"Tom?" I heard her call.

"In here Gi!" I said. She walked into the room, still looking tired.

"What's going on?" Gi asked, looking at me and then Dougie with a confused expression on her face.

"Gi, it's fine. Doug just wanted to play me a new song he's written." I said looking at Gi. I shot her a look which told her that I didn't understand either. She nodded slightly and smiled at Dougie.

"Okay," Gi said, clearly confused. "I'm going to go back to bed." I nodded and gave Gi a quick kiss.

"See you later." I murmured.

"Bye Doug," Gi said quietly.

"Bye." Dougie said. Gi went back up the stairs and an awkward silence filled the room.

"So how about I make us some coffee and we can work on the song a bit more?" I asked Dougie as I stood up from the sofa.

"Yeah." He said as he followed me into the kitchen.

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><p>After a couple of hours editing the song. We came up with a bass line and played around with some riffs. Dougie had seemed in a normal mood, we were laughing and joking and I completely forgot that he was supposed to be upset. It had been so confusing. After a couple of hours I suggested that Doug went home and got some sleep, he looked exhausted. He had informed me that he'd been up all night working on the song and hadn't slept at all. After we finished working on the guitar riff that Danny would play, Dougie went home. Once he'd left I tided up the music that we'd written and hung the guitar back on the wall. I trudged back up the stairs and walked into my room to see Gi asleep again. Marvin, Leia and Aroura were all asleep by her leg. I smiled at how peaceful she looked. I walked over to my side of the bed and climbing back in. I wrapped my arms around Gi and pulled her gently into my chest. She stirred slightly but didn't wake up. I kissed her hair gently and let myself fall asleep for the second time that day.<p>

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><p>I felt something warm against my face. I opened my eyes to see a big, ginger lump above me. I could feel Marvin's paws on my face and laughed lightly to myself. I pushed Marv off me carefully and held him in my arms against my chest. I heard Gi giggle and I looked up to see her standing in the doorway in her dressing gown. She smiled at me and I grinned as Marvin struggled against my grasp. I let him go and he jumped out of bed. I watched Marvin leave the room and Gi walked in. She lay down next to me and looked into my eyes.<p>

"What happened with Dougie?" She asked quietly. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and she rested her head on my chest. I shrugged.

"I don't know," I said quietly as I stroked Gi's hair. "He was normal... happy almost. He wrote this song about everything. Mostly about Frankie and that bloke I suppose. I don't get it, he wasn't upset."

"Surely that's a good thing though." Gi said. "If he isn't upset." I nodded slightly.

"I suppose but I'm worried about him."

"That's normal," Gi said looking up at me. "He's like your brother. You all worry about each other." Gi looked into my eyes and I smiled at her. She kissed me quickly.

"I really love you, Gi." I said. I kissed her again and she stroked my cheek.

"I love you too." Gi said smiling.

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><p><strong>AN: I hope that you all enjoyed that! Please let me know what you thought and any ideas are welcome!  
><strong>

**Please tell me whether you want some Tom and Gi stuff or Dougie centered stuff for future reference, there will probably be a mix of both throughout the story!  
>Thanks so much for reading and please REVIEW! :D<br>**

**Kate xxx  
><strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I don't really like this chapter but I'm kinda stuck for ideas so I need your help guys! Please review with ideas because I'm pretty desperate!  
><strong>

**Any way I hope that at least you guys enjoy it and please let me know what you think!**

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><p><strong>Dougie's POV:<strong>

I shut Tom's front door behind me and my smile immediately fell from my face. It had been easy pretending in front of Tom. Pretending that everything was fine and that my head didn't feel like it was about to explode. The number of thoughts that were running through my head was crazy, they were giving me a headache. It had started to rain and I pulled the hood of my jacket up over my hair. The melody from my song was running through my head on repeat and I tapped my fingers against my leg to the beat as I walked. I started singing it to myself quietly to try and preoccupy my mind.

"Dougie?" I heard a voice call. I could barely hear it over the rain but I looked up, shocked. I hadn't realised that I was walking past Danny's house at the time but it was not Danny's voice that had called me. I turned around to see Georgia standing in the rain wearing an oversized hoodie, that looked like Danny's. Her hair was getting wet and she didn't have any make-up on but she still managed to look beautiful. She walked towards me with a look of concern on her face. I put my front up again as best I could.

"Doug? What are you doing?" She asked as she walked towards me. I stepped towards her and shrugged, trying my best to smile.  
>"Went to Tom's." I said quietly.<p>

"Why were you at Tom's? It's half nine." I looked at her and she looked into my eyes questioningly.

"Why are you up?" I asked cheekily. Georgia smirked to herself.

"Don't change the subject Dougie," She said smirking. I smiled at her and laughed quietly to myself, a fake laugh.

"I just had to play him a song," I said. "What about you?"

"Got a modelling job in the city centre and I've got to be there in half an hour," She said glancing at her watch. "So I've got to go but I'll see you later. Right, Doug?" I nodded and kept the false smile on my face as Georgia hugged me and walked back towards the driveway where her car was parked. I stood watching as she got into her car and started to drive off. She waved as she drove away and I smiled at her. My smiled dropped immediately as the car turned around the corner. I continued walking towards my house again as the rain continued to fall.

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><p><strong>Georgia's POV:<strong>

I got into my car and dumped my bag in the passenger seat. I looked out of the windscreen, Dougie was still standing on the other side of the road staring straight ahead. The smile that had been on his face a moment ago had suddenly disappeared and his face was blank and his eyes empty. I looked at him for a second. He didn't look like himself, he looked tired and lifeless. I wanted to go and talk to him again but I was going to be late if I sat around for any more. Reluctantly I started the car and began to drive away. When Dougie looked up again I saw that his smile had returned again. It didn't look like him smiling though, it didn't reach his eyes. I smiled slightly back and waved at him. As soon as I got around the corner I dialled Danny's number on my hands-free. It rang a couple of times before Danny picked up.

"Huh?" He mumbled, sounding half-asleep. I'd woken him up.  
>"Dan, it's me." I said as I turned another corner.<p>

"Oh hey George, you alright?" He asked, sounding slightly more awake.

"Yeah, I was just wondering if you could do me a favour later please."

"Sure, what?" Danny asked.  
>"In a couple of hours could you just pop in and see Doug or give him a ring. Make sure he's all right?" I asked. The way Dougie had acted had surprised and worried me. I'd not seen him like this before and I didn't like it.<p>

"Yeah, course, Why?"

"I saw him when I was on my way out. He wasn't himself, I'm not sure if he's coping very well." I heard Danny sigh on the other end of the phone.  
>"That's what I was worried about," Danny said sadly. "I'll call him later, make sure he's all right."<p>

"Thank you," I said quietly.

"That's okay. I'll see you when you get in. Love you." Danny said.

"Yeah, I love you too"." I hung up the call and sped up slightly to make sure I wasn't late for my job.

* * *

><p><strong>Dougie's POV:<strong>

I shut my front door behind me and pulled my hood down. I ran my hand through my hair and took my jacket off. I hung it on the hook behind the door and put my keys down on the table. I stood for a minute not knowing what to do. The house was silent and my thoughts seemed louder in comparison. I sighed to myself and wondered round the living room for a minute. After a couple of minutes I decided that I should probably go to bed and get some sleep or I'd end up fainting at some point. I trudged up the stairs and fell asleep straight away, in my clothes.

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><p><strong>AN: I hope that you all enjoyed it! I don't really like it but please let me know what you think and please give me some ideas guys I'M DESPERATE!  
><strong>

**REVIEW!  
><strong>

**Kate xxx  
><strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: This chapter took me a while to write because I wasn't sure what was going to happen in it and once I knew that I didn't know how specifically to write it! I think that it's okay, not perticually exciting or eventful so I'm sorry! I'm just trying to build up the tension of the breakdown and the drinking issue! Please let me know what you think and tell me if you think it sucks, which I hope you don't! :D**

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><p><strong>Danny's POV:<strong>

I finally got out of bed at about one. The phone call from Georgia had woken me up and I'd gone straight back to sleep after I'd hung up. I made myself some lunch and sat at the table by myself. Brucie came over to me and fell asleep by my feet. I smiled and stroked him as I thought about what Georgia had said earlier. I was becoming increasingly worried about Doug. Tom and Harry hold told me that he'd been acting strangely for ages. They were worried about him and now Georgia was too. I hadn't seen Dougie that much since him and Frankie had broken up. I'd seen him when we had band promotion and stuff but I'd been up to Bolton for a couple of weeks and I hadn't had much time to see the guys since. I finished my lunch and washed up the dishes quickly. I walked into the living room and picked up my phone. I dialled Dougie's number and pressed ring, as I'd promised Georgia I would. The call rang out for a while and then went straight to voice mail. I sighed to myself as I put my phone on the table. I didn't know what to think. Was I supposed to presume the worse and panic or leave it and presume that he was just out or asleep. I hadn't seen him this morning, I didn't know what kind of state he'd been in, whether he'd seemed weird. I picked up my phone again and dialled Georgia's number.

"Hello?" I heard Georgia ask.

"Hey," I said quietly.

"Are you okay?" She asked sounding worried.

"Yeah," I replied. "I just wrung Doug, he's not picking up. I just thought I'd let you know." Georgia sighed and I flopped down onto the sofa.

"Are you worried?" I asked.

"A bit," Georgia said. "You should have seen him this morning Danny. He looked so lifeless." There was a moment of silence and I ran my fingers through my hair.  
>"Well, I'll ring Doug again later and if he doesn't answer we can pop round when you get back, yeah?" I asked.<p>

"Okay, or you could check with the guys if they've heard from him," Georgia said. I smiled to myself.

"Alright, I'll see you soon." I said.

"Yeah, love you."

"Love you too." I smiled as I hung up. Brucie walked into the room and looked at me with his big eyes.

"Alright mate, let's go for a walk." I said as I grabbed his collar and lead from the table.

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><p><strong>Harry's POV:<strong>

I walked into the living room to see Izzy sitting on the sofa with Morris, our cat, on her lap. She looked up from the TV and smiled at me as I walked in.

"Hey," She said as she stroked Morris.

"Hey." I replied as I flopped down on the sofa next to her, careful not to disturb Morris. I kissed Izzy quickly and draped my arm over her shoulders, pulling her against my chest.

"You had a good day?" I asked. I felt Izzy shrug against me.  
>"It was okay, pretty uneventful. You?" I nodded.<p>

"Mine was okay too," I said. "Ben says hi by the way." Izzy nodded and looked up at me. I pressed my lips to hers again and I could feel her smile against my lips. I pulled away as I heard a loud knock on the front door. I tucked Izzy's hair behind her ear and got up off the sofa to answer the door. I opened the front door slowly to see Dougie standing in front of me, swaying slightly. I started to smile at him and then I looked at him properly. He was leaning against the side of the door, looking like he couldn't stand for himself. His hair was messy and he had dark circles around his eyes. I frowned at him.

"Hey Dougs." I said quietly. He smiled at me drunkenly.

"Hey Hazza!" He exclaimed in a very drunk voice. I looked at him for a moment.

"You okay, Dougs?" I asked as I shut the front door behind me and stepped out into the cold. Dougie nodded vigorously.

"Totally dude," He said. "Just been thinking about stuff, you know."

"Like what?" I asked, shoving my hands in my pockets to keep them warm. It was mid December and freezing outside. It was only then that I realised that Dougie was only wearing a t-shirt and board shorts.

"Mate, you must be freezing, why don't you come inside." I suggested as I opened the door and held it open for him, expecting him to walk in. Instead he just stood their looking at me, showing no signs of being even the slightest bit cold.

"No, I'm fine," He slurred, his face suddenly becoming much more serious and his eyes darkening. "I'll be gone in a sec, I just wanted to know something." I looked at him for a moment and waited for him to continue.

"Harry, who is it?" I heard Izzy ask from inside the house. She opened the door and looked at Dougie and I, confused.

"Oh hey Doug," Izzy said to Dougie, only receiving a nod in her direction back. She must have gathered that something was wrong. "What's going on?"

"Nothing Iz, it's fine. I just wanted to ask Harry something." Doug said, his voice calm. I knew that Izzy could tell that Doug was drunk, she looked at me and raised her eyebrows. I nodded to reassure her that it was okay.

"Okay then," She said. "I'll leave you two to it. Bye Doug." Doug nodded at her again, smiling faintly. Izzy looked at me quickly again and I smiled as she turned and walked back into the house. Once Izzy had shut the door Doug looked at me again, this time looking much more vulnerable and child like than he had before. He was all over the place, one minute he looked like he wanted to kill me and then he looked like he was going to cry.

"What did you want to ask Doug?" I asked quietly. Dougie paused for a moment, almost contemplating what to say next.

"Did you and the others know?" He asked looked into my eyes. Tears had formed in his eyes and he was about to cry.

"Know about what?" I asked.

"About her shagging that bloke behind my back." He spat. I didn't have to ask who 'she' was. I inhaled slowly.

"Dougie-"

"Don't tell me that she didn't Harry," Dougie yelled. "She did! We all fucking know it. No-one will say it but they're all thinking it. So I'm just asking if you knew. Any of you." I looked at Dougie for a second. His voice had grown softer towards the end of the sentence but he still looked slightly angry. Tears were rolling down his cheeks and his eyes were puffy.

"Of course we didn't," I said. "None of us thought, even for a second, that you would even break-up let alone that." Dougie sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"Someone's got to have known," Dougie muttered, half to himself. "And they didn't tell me. Why the fuck would they do that Harry? Why the fuck did she do that?" Dougie bowed his head and I put my arm around his shoulders.

"It just makes me feel like shit, you know?" Dougie murmured. "She left me for a fucking thirty-year-old footballer. She didn't even look back. It's as if I meant nothing to her. Like she never even loved me." Dougie was crying now. I pulled him into a hug and he cried into my shoulder. I noticed that he never said Frankie's name, like he couldn't bring himself to. I suppose that it was a good thing that Dougie had finally opened up to someone about how he actually felt as opposed to avoiding us all and drifting away, but Izzy had always been better at emotional stuff than I had and I wasn't all that sure about what to do. I was standing outside my house in the freezing cold at three in the afternoon, hugging my sobbing best mate and I had no idea what I could say or do to make him feel any better.

"Do you remember what I said to you a few weeks ago?" I asked Dougie quietly. He nodded slowly and I pulled away from the hug to look at him. "Well it's all true Dougs. I know that this feels like the end of everything and you feel like shit but it will get better. You'll find someone else, someone so much better than Frankie." Doug cringed when I said her name but I did my best to ignore it.

"And you'll be so much happier than you were with her." Doug smiled at me half-heartedly.

"I really hope you're fucking right." He said. He turned quickly and walked down the road, towards his house.

"Dougie!" I called after him but he didn't turn around, he just kept going. I heard the front door open again from behind me and I turned around to see Izzy standing in the doorway.

"He's not right Iz," I said quietly, looking into her eyes. "Something is not right with him." Izzy looked at me sadly and walked towards me. I wrapped my arms around her and rested my chin on her head. I rubbed her back in comfort, probably for myself, and sighed.

"I'm worried about him, Iz. He's not himself any more." I felt Izzy nod against my chest.

"I know," Was all she said, softly, as she pulled me back into the house so I wouldn't freeze to death.

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><p><strong>AN: I hope that you enjoyed it! I know it's kinda cheesy so I'm sorry! :P  
><strong>

**Please let me know what you thought, reviews keep me writing! So REVIEW PLEASE!  
><strong>

**Thanks for reading! :)  
><strong>

**Kate xxx  
><strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I'm sorry that this has taken so long! I know that the last couple of chapters have been a bit uneventful and boring so I'm sorry for that, hopefully this one will be better!**

**This chapter took a LOT of editing and re-writing so I really hope that you all enjoy it!  
>Please PLEASE let me know what you all think because reviews keep me writing!<br>**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

><p>The next couple of weeks went very slowly. Every time I saw the guys I smiled and tried my best to act like I had before Frankie and I had broken up. I knew that they'd been worried about me and I was managing to persuade them that I was getting better. I didn't want them butting into my business, I wanted to deal with this in my own way, by myself. I had got myself into a routine. I'd spend the day either with the guys at some sort of band activity, spend the day with family or stay at home by myself. I'd then either return home and drink or go to the pub and drink. It seemed totally normal to me now as I'd been doing it for a couple of weeks. Every night I drank enough so that I'd feel better and but not as much that I'd be really hungover the next morning. The guys would start realising that I was lying to them if I started turning up to everything with a huge hangover. I had been avoiding Harry since I'd turned up at his house drunk and started blubbing. I'd regretted telling Harry as soon as I had, I had promised myself that I wouldn't talk about her or how I felt, I didn't want to. I knew that if I was left alone with Harry he'd start asking me questions and worrying about me so I stayed away from him as best I could. He'd tried to call me but I just ignored any calls that I received unless I knew for a fact that it was my mum or Jazzie. I'd seen my mum a couple of times since the break-up and it was the same story. I tried my best to look happy and make her laugh. She seemed to know that something was wrong but she didn't ask, I'd always been a silent sufferer, she knew that. The guys had been giving me loads of jobs to do in the band, coming up with ideas for artwork and videos and writing new songs. I think that it was just an excuse to keep me busy, they wanted to try and keep me out of trouble as best they could but they weren't doing a very good job.<p>

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><p>I walked through the front door, as I did every evening and dumped my bag by the door. I had spent the day at a meeting with our management about the tour that we were going on in about a month. I was looking forward to it, it would be a brilliant distraction and I always loved being on stage and performing with the guys. It had been a tiring day and I'd endured the meeting as best I could, contributing occasionally. The guys had been pretty lively, probably excited for the tour, but I hadn't been in the mood to contribute much. The meeting had gone very slowly and I had had nothing to entertain me. I walked through the hallway and into the kitchen. As I opened the fridge door to grab a bottle of beer my house phone started to ring. I sighed to myself as I picked up my bottle of beer and shut the fridge door. It was getting annoying, the sound of phones ringing irritated me now. I didn't really answer my house phone any more, only important calls that were to my mobile. I let the call ring until it finally stopped. I took my beer into the living room and threw myself onto the sofa, turning on the TV. I took a swig of my beer and ran my hand through my hair as I relaxed onto the sofa. The familiar taste of alcohol was welcome after the day I'd had and it always made me feel better. I felt my phone vibrate in the pocket of my jeans, against my leg. I sighed in annoyance to myself but took my phone out of my pocket and checked to see who was so desperate to get in contact with me. 'Tom' was written on my screen and I decided that I should probably answer it in case anything was wrong.<p>

"Hey mate," I said, trying not to sound annoyed as I took another swig of beer.

"Dougie," Tom said in a surprisingly serious voice. Tom was usually so friendly and jokey and his voice seemed nervous and scared. "Can you come round?" I sat up and placed my bottle on the table that was next to my sofa.  
>"Why?" I asked worriedly. "What's going on?"<p>

"Can you just come round now please." Tom's voice was slightly strained and it scared me slightly. I paused for a moment.

"Erm... sure," I said uncertainly.

"Thanks," Tom muttered and the line went dead. I took the phone away from my face and stuffed it back in my pocket. I leapt up from the sofa and walked out of the front door as quickly as I could. The edge to Tom's voice had worried me. I'd never really heard him talk like that before, he sounded like he was in pain, that thought scared me the most. Situations started racing through my head, each one getting worse and worse. I jumped into my car and drove as quickly as I could to Tom's house. Thoughts and scenarios were running through my head so quickly. I turned the corner into Tom's road and was surprised to see that there were four cars in the doorway instead of only one. I didn't give myself time to see whose cars they were. It didn't help the panic that was spreading through me to see the extra cars. What if something had happened to Gi? Or Harry, or Dan. I parked my car and jumped out of the car as fast as I could. I walked up to Tom and Gi's large front door and opened it, knowing that it wouldn't be locked.

"Tom?" I called into the house as I shut the door behind me. I didn't hear a reply so I walked into the living room but no one was there. I continued walking, checking the formal living room but no one was in there either. I stood for a moment to see if I could hear anything to give me a clue where the people were but I couldn't hear anything.

"Tom?" I asked again. "Gi?" I walked out of the formal living room and into the hall again.

"Guys seriously," I called. "This isn't funny, I'm really worr-" I stopped as I walked into the kitchen and saw seven people sitting around the kitchen table, all of them looking straight at me. I stopped abruptly and looked at them all curiously. Tom, Gi, Danny, Harry, Georgia, Izzy and my mum were all sitting around the table staring at me.

"What's going on?" I asked slowly. They were all sitting in silence, it was rather unnerving. Tom was sitting in between Gi and Danny and he was holding Gi's hand on top of the table. He was looking down at their intertwined hands and Gi was looking at him with a concerned expression on her face.

"Sit down, Doug." Tom said without looking up. I looked over at my mum but she wouldn't look me in the eyes. The atmosphere in the room was horrible, nobody really said anything. There was an empty chair on the other side of the table closest to me, where no one was sitting, and I glanced at it.

"I'd rather not," I said. "What the hell's going on?"

"Just sit down Dougie." My mum demanded sternly from behind Tom. I looked at her for a second and did what I'd been told. I sat in the chair slowly and I saw Harry shake his head. I frowned and waited for someone to say something.

"Doug..." Tom started. "We've all been talking, we're worried about you." I felt my stomach drop. I'd been convincing them that everything had been getting better. Tom had sounded guilty, that worried me.

"Why?" I asked, trying to sound casual. "I'm fine." Tom finally looked up from his and Gi's hand and looked at Danny. Dan nodded slightly and Tom looked at me. He frowned and looked at me doubtfully. I noticed that he was rubbing Gi's hand with his thumb, probably subconsciously.

"We think that-" Tom started but he was interrupted by Harry standing up nosily, scraping his chair on the floor. Everyone turned to look at him as he stood up and stormed out of the room, his hands clenched in fists by his sides.

"Harry!" Izzy exclaimed as she too stood up and rushed after him. I frowned to myself. Harry had looked more pissed off than I'd ever seen him. Not entirely pissed off exactly, more worried, anxious and angry all at the same time. Once Harry and Izzy had both left the room I heard a couple of incoherent shouts and a couple of quiet noises before silence. I'd expected to hear the front door shut but it didn't. Tom cleared his throat and turned to look at me again. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. My mum seemed to notice this so she spoke instead.

"Dougs," She said quietly. "We think that maybe... you might need to go and see someone. We think... they could help you, maybe." I looked at her, shock flooding through me.

"What?" I asked, sitting straighter in my chair. Was I so useless that I couldn't even convince my friends that I was okay. I was so fucking useless. "What the hell are you on about?" Annoyance and anger starting to fill my voice. Mum looked down and sighed.

"Maybe someone could help you... with everything." Mum muttered. I ran my hand through my hair and flumped down in my seat. I closed my eyes and rested my elbows on the table, leaning my head against my hands, anger bubbling inside of me. I could feel Danny, Georgia, Tom and Gi's eyes on me eyes on me but I didn't look up.

"Dougie?" I heard Gi's soft voice ask cautiously. "Doug-"

"There's nothing wrong with me!" I yelled angrily, making Gi jump. "I'm fucking fine!" I stood up from my chair and kicked it backwards, anger engulfing me. I grabbed the sides of my head with my hands and breathed heavily, standing still for a moment. Tom and Danny had stood up and were both looking at me cautiously. Gi, Georgia and my mum were all looking shocked and slightly frightened.

"Mate," Tom started. "We just want to help."

"I don't need any help!" I exploded, backing away from him and Danny. "You all just need to leave me the fuck alone and but out!" I turned around and ran out of the kitchen as fast as I could. Tom and Dan were following me and I could hear Gi, Georgia and my mum getting up from their chairs. Tom and Danny were calling my name but I kept running until I was outside. The cold air hit me harshly and I stopped running. I was stood in Tom's long drive and I heard Dan and Tom run out of the front door behind me. I didn't turn to look at them but I could tell that they were behind me.

"Doug, you need to calm down," I heard Danny say from behind me.

"I told you this was a bad idea," Harry said, his voice angry. He must have heard my shouting anf joined Tom and Danny. "You've freaked him out now." I breathed in deeply, trying to calm myself down. Hearing what Harry had said had only increased my anger. I was fed up of being treated like a kid or needing the guys to look after me. They thought that I was their responsibility, they had to look after me but they had no clue. I wasn't a kid any more.

"Shut it, Harry," Danny said. "Save it for later, yeah?" A mixture of anger and adrenaline was running through me and I could feel that my entire body was tense. I felt a sudden hand on my shoulder, making me jump. I spun around quickly and instinctively punched the person in the face as hard as I could. I heard a couple of gasps from behind me. It took me a second to register what I'd just done. I hadn't meant to hurt anyone, I was angry and I'd been taken by surprise. I looked down to see Tom on the floor, blood covering his face.

"Fuck!" Danny yelled, going over to Tom to make sure that he was okay. "Dougie, what the hell was that for?" I was completely speechless. I'd never hurt any of the guys before, especially Tom. Gi hurried over to Tom and knelt down on the floor next to him. I just stood staring at him, not able to say anything.

"Oh my god," Gi said, cradling Tom's face in her hands. "Honey, are you okay?" Tom nodded slowly, trying to dab some of the blood away from his nose. He didn't look angry, as I'd expected him too, but he looked shocked and sad. I could feel tears running down my cheeks and I started to sob, slightly hysterically.

"Oh my god," I muttered to myself as I stepped away from where Tom and Gi were sitting. Danny, Harry and Izzy were all surrounding Tom, making sure that he was okay and my mum and Georgia were standing in the doorway of the house, watching on, worried. I grabbed the sides of my hair with my hands and started shaking slightly as I sobbed. I turned away from the scene in front of me and closed my eyes, running my hand through my hair over and over. I had just hurt Tom, attacked him even. Tom was one of my best friends, I would never hurt him and I just had. Everything that Tom, my mum and Gi had said to me seemed so true to me now. I did need help, I wasn't myself any more, I didn't know who I was or what I was doing.

"Dougie?" I heard a hesitant voice ask from behind me. I turned around slowly, still shaking and sobbing to see Harry standing in front of me, looking worried. Tom was standing up now, still surrounded by everyone but his nose and mouth were still bleeding. I just looked up at Harry and cried. Harry pulled me into a hug and I sobbed against his shoulder.  
>"Harry," I sobbed. "They're right, there's something wrong with me." Harry rubbed my back.<p>

"Doug," Harry said. "It's gonna be fine. We're all her for you, we're gonna help you."

"Tom's gonna hate me," I said. "You should all hate me." Harry pushed me away so that I was looking at him.  
>"We could never hate you," Harry said sincerely. "You're like our brother. And you know Tom, he couldn't hate anybody, especially you." I was still shaking and sobbing and Harry had noticed this.<p>

"Seriously, Doug," Harry said. "We're all here for you."

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><p><strong>AN: So that was pretty dramatic... I hope!  
>The idea of this story was that I wanted to be realistic so that everything could have actually happened! Obviously this chapter didn't happen but I hope that it's not too far-fetched!<strong>

**I really hope that you all enjoyed it!  
><strong>

**If you have any ideas or things that you want to happen please let me know!  
><strong>

**Tell me what you think coz, as I keep saying, reviews keep me writing! :D  
><strong>

**Thanks,  
><strong>

**Kate xxx  
><strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: So I'm not 100% sure about this chapter, I don't like it much! It kinda starts half-way through the last chapter and goes on a bit in Harry's POV!**

**I hope that you guys enjoy it anyways!  
><strong>

**Please send me some ideas or thoughts on what you thought!**

* * *

><p><strong>Harry's POV:<strong>

"We think that-" I stood up quickly from my chair and left the room as fast as I could. I couldn't sit in a room with Dougie and hear him lie to us all. He shouldn't need to lie to us, we're his best friends and I hated seeing Dougie in pain. These last few months had been horrible, Doug just hadn't been himself.

"Harry!" I heard Izzy call from behind me. I stormed into the living room that was just down the hall and Izzy followed me. I could feel tears running down my cheeks as I turned to look at Izzy, who was watching me with a worried expression on her face.  
>"This shouldn't be happening," I said loudly, my voice thick. "This is Dougie, we're talking about!" Izzy nodded.<p>

"I know," She said quietly. "This is hard for all of us but it's Dougie that we're looking out for. We want him to get better-"

"Everyone in there seems to think that making him see a bloody shrink is gonna help him," I exclaimed. "Am I the only on that really knows him? He's not gonna want to see a shrink, he won't talk to him. He won't even talk to us!" Izzy sighed and looked at me for a moment.

"Maybe he'll surprise you," Izzy said, shrugging. "I get it Harry, he's your best friend. You don't want him to get hurt but he's already hurting and if we don't try and help him everything could get worse." I looked down at the spotlessly clean carpet on the floor and nodded.

"You're right," I said. I pulled Izzy into a tight hug and rested my chin on top of her head.

"Don't sound so surprised." Izzy murmured jokingly. I laughed quietly and kissed her hair.

"I love you," I said.

"I love you too." Izzy said as she pulled away from the hug and smiled at me. I kissed her quickly on the lips but I pulled away when I heard loud shouting coming from the kitchen.

"Shit," I muttered to myself. Before I knew what was really happening, I saw Dougie run past the living room door and along the hall, closely followed by Tom and Dan. Instinctively I followed them straight out of the front door and into Tom's drive. My three band mates had all stopped. Dougie was standing the furthest away from me, at the other end of the drive, with his back to us. He was shaking slightly and I could tell that he was angry.

"Doug, you need to calm down." Danny said as he took a cautious step closer to Dougie.

"I told you this was a bad idea," I said angrily. "You've freaked him out now." I noticed Dougie freeze for a moment at what I'd said.

"Shut it Harry," Danny said, clearly also sensing Dougie's unease at my words. "Save it for later yeah?" I nodded slightly. Tom walked up to Dougie cautiously and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Dougie flinched slightly and, before anyone could stop him or realise what was going on, he punched Tom, square in the face. I heard Gi gasp from behind me as Tom fell to the floor, blood pouring out of his nose.  
>"Fuck!" Danny yelled as he rushed over to Tom. I ran over as well but I stopped and looked up at Dougie. He looked terrified. He stood, staring at Tom, seemingly unable to move. "Dougie, what the hell was that for?" Dougie just stood deadly still, staring at Tom with a terrified expression on his face and his eyes wide. He was shaking and tears were rolling down his cheeks. Gi ran over from where she'd been standing, behind us, and knelt down beside Tom.<p>

"Oh my god," Gi murmured as she cradled Tom's face in her hands. "Honey, are you okay?" Tom looked at her for a second without saying anything and nodded slowly. He didn't really look okay, blood was pouring from his nose and mouth and he looked rather pale. Georgia, Sam and Izzy all joined us around Tom and Danny and Gi started to help him up. I looked over to Dougie again and saw that he was turned away from us now and he was shaking violently. I heard him mutter something to himself quietly and I could tell that he was flipping out. I walked over to him slowly and heard that he was sobbing.

"Dougie?" I asked cautiously as I stepped towards him. Dougie turned around and looked at me for a second. He looked more frightened than I'd ever seen him. I pulled him into a tight hug and he cried against my shoulder for a moment.

"Harry," Dougie started, still sobbing. "They're right, there's something wrong with me." I rubbed his back in comfort.

"Doug," I said sympathetically. "It's gonna be fine. We're all here for you, we're gonna help you."

"Tom's gonna hate me," Dougie murmured so quietly that I could barely make out what he was saying. He sounded so guilty and upset with himself. "You should all hate me." I pulled Dougie away from my shoulder lightly and looked at him.

"We could never hate you," I said sincerely. "You're like our brother. And you know Tom, he couldn't hate anybody, especially you." Dougie was still shaking and sobbing so I looked right into his eyes.

"Seriously, Doug, we're all here for you." Dougie smiled at me faintly but it didn't reach his eyes.  
>"How about I take you home and we'll give everyone a chance to calm down?" I asked Doug. He looked behind me at what was happening with Tom and the others. He looked worried again. "We'll give Tom a ring later and make sure that he's okay, alright?" Dougie hesitated for a moment, still watching the events behind me. He looked at me again and nodded slowly.<p>

"Alright, mate," I said. "C'mon." I lead him towards my car that was parked just outside of the drive and drove him home.

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><p><strong>Tom's POV:<strong>

I sat on top of the worktop in the kitchen with Gi standing in front of me. She had a bowl of water placed next to me and she was trying to clean the blood off my face. She grabbed another piece of kitchen towel and wet it slightly. She dabbed it against the cut on my lip for the second time and I winced from the pain. We had all been rather worried when we noticed that both Harry and Dougie were missing but Harry had texted Izzy a minute later to tell us that he'd taken Dougie home. Danny, Georgia and Sam had gone home after Harry had left and Harry had returned quickly to pick up Izzy. They were going to go back to Doug's house and stay with him to make sure that he was okay. I wasn't annoyed at Dougie, not even a little bit. I was more annoyed at myself and the others, how could we have not realised that something was wrong with Doug sooner, we were supposed to look after him. Once everyone had left Gi had pulled me inside immediately and started to clean me up. My nose was still bleeding and it was starting to swell but the cut on my lip seemed to be getting slightly better. I had hit my head on the concrete when I'd fallen so my head was throbbing slightly but it was easy to ignore the dull ache.

"Are you okay, hun?" Gi asked, noticing how quiet I'd been. I looked up at her from where I was sitting and nodded.

"Yeah," I said as Gi began to wipe my nose carefully. "I'm fine." I winced in pain again as she put pressure on my nose.

"Sorry," Gi said quietly. She placed her hand on one side of my face and dabbed at my nose as carefully as she could. "I think it's broken." Gi said after examining my nose for a moment. I sighed and ran my hand through my hair.

"Brilliant," I muttered sarcastically.

"It might not be," Gi reassured me. "We'll see if it's worse in the morning and if it is we'll have to go to the hospital." I nodded, sighing. We sat in silence for a moment as Gi continued to clean up my face but my nose still hadn't stopped bleeding. I shut my eyes and leant my head against the cabinet behind me.

"What's wrong?" Gi asked worriedly.

"My heads just aching." I said.

"Why? Did you hit it?" Gi asked, concerned.

"Yeah, on the concrete when I fell but it's fine." I said, trying to reassure her, she always did worry too much.

"Tell me if it gets worse, okay?" Gi asked, looking at me with a concerned expression on her face. I nodded again and Gi smiled slightly at me.

"I think that's as much as I can do for now," Gi said as she stepped away from me and grabbed another piece of kitchen towel from behind me. "Just keep that on your nose until it stops bleeding." I hopped off the kitchen worktop and took the piece of cloth from Gi.

"Thanks honey," I said as I kissed her lips quickly.

"It's what I'm here for." Gi said, smiling. I laughed slightly and pressed my lips to Gi's again. Gi pulled away when the home phone started ringing.

"Go sit in the living room and keep that on your nose." Gi said strictly pointing at the towel in my hand. I laughed and nodded at her. She grinned at me as she answered the phone. I held the kitchen towel against my nose as I walked into the living room and flopped down onto the sofa. I picked up the TV remote and started flicking through the channels, trying to distract my attention away from my aching nose and head. I could hear Gi talking on the phone in the other room but I couldn't hear what she was saying. I focused my attention on what was happening on the TV. It was some kind of talent show and a nervous child was standing on stage and singing. I wasn't really able to focus on the TV but I tried my best. I was worried about Doug, he'd been in bits and he'd looked terrified. I could just hope that Harry and Izzy were looking after him. I decided that I'd go and see him in the morning to make sure that he was okay and make sure that he knew that I wasn't angry. Gi walking into the living room interrupted my thoughts. I looked up as she walked in to see that she wasn't on the phone any more.

"That was Iz." Gi said as she sat down next to me. "Her and Harry are still at Doug's. Harry's gonna stay over there tonight." I nodded and wrapped my arm around Gi, pulling her against my chest.  
>"Is he okay?" I asked worriedly.<p>

"He feels terrible," Gi said looking up at me. "He had a panic attack once Harry got him home, he thinks that we're all gonna hate him. Iz said that he wants some help though, so maybe this has done some good after all." I sighed and nodded, stroking Gi's arm.

"Hopefully he'll let us help him now," I said, sadly. Gi nodded against my chest.

"Izzy seems to think he will," Gi confirmed, sounding upset. "Doug knows that some thing's wrong now, it just took punching his best mate in the face for him to notice." I kissed Gi's hair and rested the side of my face on her head.

"You okay?" I asked quietly. Gi laughed slightly to herself.

"You're asking **me** that question?" Gi asked me. "You're the one with the bruised face and possible broken nose." I smiled slightly.

"Yeah but you're always worried about everyone else, I don't ask **you **enough." I said. Gi smiled at me.

"I'm fine," Gi said looking up at me, a small smile on her face.

"Good," I said, smiling slightly. I pressed a kiss to Gi's cheek. "We're gonna help him now so he'll get better."

"Yeah," Gi agreed, sounding slightly happier. She kissed me quickly before snuggling into me again and closing her eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So I'm sorry if you didn't like it but I hope that you did!  
>Please leave me a review and let me know what you think, they keep me writing!<br>**

**PLEASE REVIEW! :D  
><strong>

**Thank you for reading and reviewing!  
><strong>

**Kate xxx  
><strong>


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I am so sorry that this chapter has taken so long! I have re-written it from about three different POV's so I REALLY hope that you all enjoy this final version!**

**Please let me know what you think because I really need to know if you enjoy this because I'm not sure about it! :)**

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><p><strong>Harry's POV:<strong>

I opened my eyes slowly and rolled over, stopping myself quickly when I realised that I was on a sofa. I steadied myself so that I didn't fall off the edge of the sofa and rubbed my eyes, trying to wake myself up. I turned over and lay on my back and looked up at the ceiling of Dougie's living room, where I had stayed last night. Dougie had been such a mess last night that Izzy and I had both agreed that it would be best if I stayed with him to make sure that he was okay. I stood up off the sofa after a moment and stretched, my back and neck aching from having slept on the sofa. I looked over at the mantelpiece to see the clock, it was eleven o'clock, Dougie must not have got up yet. I walked into Dougie's kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee. I hadn't really been in his house for a while but it was looking better than I'd expected it to. It was fairly clean, well as clean as Dougie's house ever was, and everything was in place. There had been no more damage, that I could tell, apart from the photo frames, that were now absent from the living room, that Tom had told me about. I sighed to myself as I poured the tea into my mug. It was good that Doug had realised that we needed to help him and it seemed like he was going to let us but I couldn't help but worry about him. He was one of my best friends and he'd always been quite vulnerable. I was worried that maybe everything had had an even greater impact on him than we thought. That maybe we'd left it too long, maybe it was too late to help him. I pushed the negative thoughts out of my head as I took the teabag out of my mug and opened the bin to throw it away. I chucked the tea bag into the bin and looked down to see that the bin was full of empty glass bottles. I frowned to myself as I carefully moved the rubbish around to see what the bottles were. I ran my hand through my hair when I realised that they were all empty vodka and beer bottles. I picked up the bag that had been lining the bin and examined it carefully. From looking into the bag I noticed that there was nothing else in the bag, only bottles and the tea bag that I had used: no food boxes or containers, nothing. I took the bag in my hand and carried it outside to the larger bin. I took the lid off and peeked inside quickly. Again, the plastic container was filled with empty glass bottles, come broken and some still intact. I dumped the bag in my hand into the bin and stormed back inside the house. Dougie had always liked a drink, anyone who knew him could tell you that, but this was different. There were so many bottles, a worrying number, and no food waste, nothing. Maybe I'd been right, maybe this had been worse than we'd all imagined. I sighed to myself and ran my hand through my hair again as I walked back into the living room, sitting back down on the sofa. I put my head in my hands and thought for a moment. Was I exaggerating? Maybe I was making a big deal out of nothing, it wouldn't be the first time. So there were some bottles in the bin, that didn't mean anything, but why did it seem to to me. Dougie had always been a social drinker, he drunk with other people, never on his own so why were there so many bottles in his bin if he had been staying at home, which I knew that he had. Doug hadn't been out of his house in weeks, not out of choice anyway and he'd been staying by himself as much as possible. I was interrupted from my thoughts by cautious footsteps walking down the stairs. They were quiet and careful, they didn't sound like Dougie at all. I looked up as Dougie walked into the living room. His hair was disheveled and messy and he had very dark circles under his tired-looking, puffy eyes. His face was slightly pink and he looked like he'd been crying. He was wearing an old pair of tracksuit bottoms and a scruffy white t-shirt. He didn't say anything as he walked into the room he just stopped in the doorway and tried to avoid looking at me.

"Morning," I said quietly, quickly deciding that I would not bring up the bottles. "You feeling any better?" Doug looked at me for a second and nodded quickly, still not saying anything. Before I could say anything else Dougie walked past me and into the kitchen and he started making himself some coffee. I walked after him and stood in the doorway of the kitchen, looking at him.

"Have you heard from Tom?" Dougie asked quietly, his voice sounding hoarse. He didn't look at me, he kept his eyes fixed on the boiling water that he was pouring into his mug. I shook my head, mostly to myself.

"No," I said. "Izzy called Gi last night though. They're worried about you. They just want to make sure that you're okay."

"We all know I'm not okay." Dougie said, finally looking me in the eye. He sounded sad, not bitter or harsh like I'd expected him to.

"Doug," I started. "You know we're gonna help you. Whatever you need, we're all here for you." Dougie nodded, looking back down at his mug.

"Thanks Harry," He said quietly.

"No problem mate," I said, smiling slightly at him. I walked across the room and pulled him into a hug. "That's what friends are for." I heard Dougie laugh quietly to himself as he pulled away from my hug.

"That's so cheesy." He murmured, almost smiling and for a second he looked like himself again. I smiled at that but Dougie looked down at his shoes, fading back to how he'd been before.

"I'm gonna go round to Tom's," He said quietly as he turned and headed out of the kitchen. I nodded as Dougie headed upstairs to get ready. I sat myself back down the sofa and picked up my phone from the coffee table. Opening the phone I saw that I had a text from Izzy.

_Missing you! Hope Doug's ok! Ring me l8r! Xxxx_

I smiled to myself as I composed a reply back.

_Miss u 2! Seems happier than yesterday but still v. quiet! I'll ring in a bit, need to talk to u! xx_

I placed my phone back down on the table. I needed to ring Izzy soon to ask her opinion on the drinking, I didn't want to cause the others to panic or worry if it was unnecessary. Izzy would know what to do, she always did.

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><p><strong>Tom's POV:<strong>

I sat in my dining room with Marvin on my lap. I stroked his ear softly and I could hear him purring happily. Gi was still asleep upstairs but I'd been awake for a few hours. The throbbing in my nose had woken me up and worries had been running through my head since then meaning that I had had very little sleep. I hadn't looked in the mirror yet this morning, I was almost frightened to. I didn't want to see the extent of the damage that had been caused to my face the previous day, that would make it seem much more real. I was still in my star wars t-shirt and boxers that I'd slept in as could not be bothered to get changed yet. The fact that Harry was staying over at Dougie's house had reassured me slightly that Dougie would be in safe and capable hands but it didn't stop me worrying about the youngest band mate. I stared off into space as I continued to tickle Marvin behind his ears, thinking about Doug and what exactly we could all do to help him, after promising to do so many times. I looked over at the clock on the wall to see that it was almost mid-day and Gi still wasn't up but I guess that that meant she needed her sleep. I lifted Marvin off my lap and placed him on the cold, tiled floor. He ran off towards the living room as I stood up from my seat and headed into the kitchen. I noticed that their was a pile of dishes next to the sink from last nights dinner so I decided to wash them up so that Gi wouldn't have to do it once she woke up. I filled the sink with water and placed the dishes in it. I was interrupted by a knock on the door. I turned away from the sink and walked down the hall, towards the front door. I ran my hand through my hair, to try and make it slightly neater, and opened the front door to see Dougie standing in front of me. His hair was messy and wet and he was dressed in an old t-shirt and a pair of grubby tracksuit bottoms. His eyes were red and bloodshot and he gasped when he saw me, tears starting to roll down his face.

"Doug?" I asked as Dougie started sobbing to himself. He turned away from me and lifted his hands to his face, crying to himself.

"Dougie, what's wrong?" Dougie glanced up at me again, not saying anything. His eyes were full of fear and guilt and I'd never seen him look so scared. I heard Dougie mumble to me, sobs blocking the words, the only words I heard were "sorry" and "Tom."

"Doug, there's nothing for you to be sorry for." I said, quietly.

"Your face." Dougie murmured, looking at me with frightened eyes.

"Don't worry about that," I said reassuringly. "It probably looks worse than it is." Dougie did not seem convinced with my answer, he kept staring at my face, looking guilty and scared. I opened the door wider and beckoned for Dougie to follow me inside. He did, reluctantly. We walked into the living room and I could tell that Dougie wasn't going to sit down so I didn't either.

"I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry," Dougie murmured in a small voice. He sounded like he couldn't get his words out properly. "I... I understand that... I need some help now and... I just wanted to tell you that I didn't mean to hurt you... I really didn't. I'm not myself any more... I don't really understand what's happened to me but I would never want to hurt any of you guys, ever." Dougie became more confident as he was speaking but he still sounded unsure of what he was saying and his words came out as a jumble. I nodded as Dougie finished speaking.

"I know it wasn't your fault Doug," I said. "I'm not angry at you and I know that the others aren't either. We just wanna help you." Doug looked at me, his tears finally stopping. He smiled slightly and I gave him a reassuring look.

"Thank you," He murmured quietly. I smiled at him and pulled him into a hug. I patted him on the back in comfort as I felt Dougie hug me back tightly.

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><p><strong>AN: So I hope that you all enjoyed it! I tried my best and I found this chapter really hard to write so I hope you all liked it!  
>Please let me know what you all thought, reviews keep me writing! Also requests are very welcome and I need ideas please! :D<br>**

**Kate xxx  
><strong>


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I would really like to apologize for this chapter in advance. It's a bit of a filler and I really am not very happy with it at all! Hopefully the next chapter should be with you soon and be better though so i really am very sorry!  
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**The next couple of chapter's may be a bit jumpy and skip a lot of time so I'm sorry about that too!  
><strong>

**Anyhoo, I hope that you enjoy this, at least a little bit, and hopefully more than I do! :)  
><strong>

**Please let me know what you think about it by reviewing, they really do keep me writing!**

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><p><strong>Giovanna's POV:<strong>

"Tom?" I called as I walked down the stairs in my pyjamas, wondering where my boyfriend was. I'd woken up alone, immediately noticing Tom's absence and it had worried me, Tom was almost always around when I woke up. If not in bed then in the room or downstairs. The fact that I heard no answer worried me further. He'd been really upset yesterday. Dougie was already ill, we couldn't deal with Tom going off the rails too.  
>"Tom?" I tried again but, as before, I heard no reply. I sighed to myself as I got to the bottom of the stairs and walked along the hall towards the kitchen. I frowned to myself when I saw that Tom was not there. There were no signs in the room of him being there at all this morning apart from a pile of dishes that had been cleaned from last night. I heard a quiet screeching noise and I turned around to see that Marvin was sitting on the patio outside with his face pressed against the glass of the double doors, clearly wanting to be let inside. I walked over to the doors and opened them, letting Marvin into the house. Marv trotted in happily, his fur soaking wet. He walked quickly across the floor of the kitchen, leaving footprints as he went. I was about to close the door when I heard quiet voices coming from outside. I quickly pulled on a pair of shoes, that were sat by the door, and walked outside slowly. It was a cold morning and the patio was wet from the rain the night before. I walked around the corner of the house, where the voices were coming from and I was surprised to see Tom and Dougie sitting around the garden table, talking quietly. Tom looked around as I turned the corner but Doug kept his gaze locked on his hands. I noticed that the bruising on Tom's face had worsened and was much darker than yesterday, it looked very painful.<p>

"Hey honey," Tom greeted me, sounding surprisingly casual.

"Hey," I replied as I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to stay warm. "What are you two doing out here, it's freezing?" I looked over at the two men and noticed that Tom was still in his pyjamas with his Jedi dressing gown and Dougie was fully dressed.

"Just talking." Tom replied, smiling slightly at me. I nodded, still frowning.

"What about?" I asked quietly. Dougie looked up and glanced at me quickly.

"Just general things." Tom said. I nodded again and decided that I was definitely not wanted in this conversation.

"Okay," I said. "Do you both want some tea?" I asked, finding a way to leave the conversation so that they could continue, Doug was clearly not very comfortable with me there. Both Tom and Dougie nodded in response so I smiled at them both and turned back towards the house. I started walking back towards the house and heard Tom and Dougie continue their conversation as it had been before. I walked into the house and shut the door behind me, shivering slightly from the cold. I sighed to myself and leaned my head against the glass door. I was so sick of seeing Dougie so upset, I hated it. We all just wanted him better and happy again, seeing him suffering was horrible.

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><p><strong>Harry's POV:<strong>

I heard the front door shut, signalling to me that Dougie had left to go to Tom's. I let out a breath, that I hadn't realised I was holding, and leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. I hadn't moved from the sofa since Dougie had headed upstairs to get changed and I picked up my phone off the table and dialled Izzy's number. As the call began to ring, I leaned back, leaning my head against the wall. I ran my hand through my hair as Izzy picked her phone up.

"Hey honey," Izzy said, I could hear a smile in her voice.

"Hey," I answered, sounding stressed.

"What's wrong? What's happened?" Izzy asked, sounding worried. "I thought you said Dougie was better this morning."

"He was," I said, running my hand through my hair again. "I think it's worse than we thought."

"What do you mean?" Izzy asked. I could hear the worry in her voice.

"I found loads of bottles in his bin," I said. "He's been drinking loads and it seems like it's been going on for a while." There was silence from the other end of the phone for a moment before Izzy sighed.

"Do you think he's addicted?" Izzy asked quietly. I knew exactly what she meant and I'd been pushing that thought to the the back of my head, not wanting to even consider the possibility. If Dougie had a drinking problem it would make everything ten times more complicated.

"I don't know," I murmured. "I really hope not. I mean, I haven't noticed him being hungover or drunk any more than usual."

"Maybe he's been hiding it," Izzy murmured., sounding worried.

"Yeah," I said. I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. "Maybe."

"Where is he now?" Izzy asked quietly.

"At Tom's," I replied. "He's still pretty upset about yesterday."

"Yeah," Izzy murmured. "Have you spoken to him about the drinking?"

"Not yet, I wanted to talk to you first, make sure I wasn't overreacting."

"You're not." Izzy replied. "I think you need to talk to him about it."

"I can't," I replied, sighing. "I don't want him to get more stressed out than he already is. When we get him someone to talk to, hopefully, he'll talk to them."

"Alright. I've got some time later if you want me to come round."

"That'd be good," I said. "Thanks Iz. I'll give you a call later."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye, love you."

"Love you too." I leaned forward, resting my head on my hand and hanging up the call. I sighed, running my hands over my face and leaning back against the sofa. Everything just got ten times worse.

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><p><strong>AN: I know, it was crap, sorry!  
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**The next chapter should be up soon and hopefully it'll be better than this one!  
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**Let me know what you thought please!  
><strong>

**And check out my other one-shots and fanfics that are on my profile, there are a lot of Tiovanna ones at the mo and if anyone has any prompts of fic ideas (regarding this story or not) please let me know because I love writing new things! :)  
><strong>

**Kate xxx  
><strong>


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: So I am sorry about the last chapter but you guys gave me some lovely feedback even though it wasn't very good so thank you very much! :D**

**Anyhoo, I found this chapter quite hard to write because it is a VERY important chapter but I hope that it's ok and not an anticlimax!  
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**I hope you enjoy it and please let me know what you think! :D Thanks! :)**

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><p><strong>Dougie's POV:<strong>  
>I opened my eyes slowly, surprised when my head wasn't aching. I wasn't hungover. I was used to waking up feeling like crap now and it was strange to feel normal. I sat up in bed, sighing to myself when I realised what day it was. Harry and Tom had organised an appointment for me with Gi's friend, who was a psychiatrist. It had only been a three days since I'd hit Tom and I hadn't forgiven myself for it yet. Both Tom and Harry had been very keen for me to have an appointment as soon as possible so Gi's friends managed to fit me in. I felt sick to my stomach, I was absolutely terrified. I didn't want some stranger asking me questions and deciding things about me when they didn't even know me. On the other hand, the guys had all promised me that this would help me and that everything would be back to normal again soon. I leant my back against the headboard of the bed in Tom and Gi's spare room. They had both insisted that I stayed at their house for a few days, wanting to keep their eyes on me, I suppose. I didn't blame them, I didn't fully trust myself any more. A quiet knock on the door made me jump slightly.<p>

"Dougs?" Gi's voiced asked quietly, through the door. "You up?"

"Yeah." I murmured quietly.

"Okay, we've got to leave in half an hour. There's some breakfast downstairs." Gi's voice sounded as kind as always and it made me smile slightly to myself.

"Thanks Gi." I said quietly.

"No problem darling." I heard Gi's footsteps grow quieter as she headed back downstairs. I stood up out of bed slowly, stretching my arms and hearing them click. I had a quick shower and got dressed as quickly as I could, into a t-shirt and jeans, trying to ignore the sick feeling in my stomach. I looked into the mirror, trying to neaten my hair up slightly, and failing. I walked downstairs slowly, dreading what was coming today. I could hear that the TV was on in the living room and I could smell Gi's wonderful cooking in the kitchen. I walked into the kitchen to see Tom sitting at the table with Marvin on his lap, a newspaper and a plate of bacon on the table in front of him. He looked up as I entered the large room and smiled at me slightly.

"Hey Doug." He said, smiling at me. I tried my best to smile back but it probably looked more like a grimace. I was terrified, more than I'd ever been in my life. Tom sensed my anxiousness and looked concerned. "You okay?" I nodded slowly, trying to convince myself as well.

"Yeah," I murmured. Tom looked up at me, unconvinced. "Just a little nervous." I added. Tom nodded and stood up, placing Marvin on the floor. He patted my back in comfort.

"It'll be fine mate," He said. "I promise, alright? We'll be there waiting for you. We'll be there the second you come out and if you want to leave, you can." My nerves faded slightly at Tom's words. He always managed to make me feel better about things like this, he had a way with words.

"Thanks dude." I said, smiling slightly at Tom. He grinned and patted my back again.

"Don't worry mate." Tom replied. I turned around when I heard Gi walk into the room behind me.

"Morning Dougs." Gi said, smiling kindly at me. She was already dressed and I could tell that she was ready to leave. "Have you had some breakfast?" I shook my head and Gi frowned at me.

"Do you not want any?" She asked sounding worried.

"Not really," I replied. "I'm okay." She smiled and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Ready to go?" Tom asked as he picked his car keys up from the table. Gi nodded and I nodded slowly, still nervous. Gi smiled warmly at me and we all walked out of the house, towards Tom and Gi's car.

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><p>"Dougie Poynter?" The receptionist asked and I felt Tom look at me from where he was sitting, next to me. Tom smiled at me reassuringly and patted my shoulder in comfort. I smiled back, nervously and stood up from my chair.<p>

"We'll be right here when you come out Doug," Tom said and I nodded.

"Thanks dude." I replied and Tom smiled at me. I saw him grab Gi's hand tightly in his own and look over at Harry worriedly, who was sitting next to Gi, as I walked over to where the receptionist was waiting for me. She smiled at me kindly and beckoned for me to follow her, which I did. She lead me into a small, nicely decorated room. There was a large, wooden desk in the middle of the room and a pretty, brunette woman with big brown eyes was sitting behind it. She smiled welcomingly at me and I tried my best to smile back, through my nerves.

"Mr. Poynter," She greeted me, standing up from her chair and holding her hand out. I shook her hand and smiled at the woman.

"Hi." I murmured quietly.

"Take a seat." She sad kindly, gesturing to a chair that was on the opposite side of the desk to hers. I sat down and she returned to her seat. "I'm Dr. Phillips." I nodded and I think that the doctor could sense my nervousness. She smiled reassuringly at me.

"So would you like to start by telling me why you are here to see me today?" She asked, her voice soft and calming. I shifted in my seat, looking at my hands, that were rested on my lap.

"Erm..." I started, fiddling with a bracelet that was on my wrist. "I... My friends... they wanted me to talk to you." Dr. Phillips raised her eyebrows at me and I looked down again.

"So you don't want to talk to me?" She asked.

"No... I mean, I need to talk to someone." I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"And why is that?"

"I...I," I started, not really knowing what to say. "I don't know... Lots of reasons." My voice grew quieter as I finished my sentence.

"So when did these... problems start?" The doctor asked me.

"November," I answered quickly. I could remember every detail of the day that Frankie and I had split up. The date was fixed into my brain, it had been the beginning of everything.

"What started them?" She asked.

"Erm... My, er, my girlfriend... she," I started, finding it difficult to get words out. "She broke up with me." Doctor Phillips nodded and I cleared my throat quickly.

"Why would you say that this effected you to such an extent?"

"Because I loved her," I said simply. "I thought she was it." Doctor Phillips looked at me sympathetically and nodded.

"What happened after your relationship ended?" Dr. Phillips asked.

"I started staying at my friend's house for a little while," The doctor nodded and looked at me for a moment, waiting for me to continue. "Tried to get my head together and then I went home after a couple of weeks."

"Did it help you being back at home?"

"Not really," I admitted, feeling more comfortable talking to her now. "I kinda flipped out the first night I was back."  
>"In what way?" Dr. Phillips asked, looking at me curiously.<p>

"I smashed some stuff, got pissed, I can't remember much of it," I said, sighing to myself. "Things got a bit better after that, I suppose, but then I found out that she was dating this footballer guy."

"How did that make you feel?" The doctor asked. I was surprised that it had taken her this long to ask that question. Wasn't that the question that psychiatrists always asked?

"Pretty shit," I murmured. "It just felt like I meant nothing to here, if she could move on so fast. Like she'd never loved me in the first place."

"Did you turn to drinking more once you found out about the new relationship?" This question shocked me slightly. I hadn't really thought about how much I'd been drinking. I knew in the back of my head that I had been drinking a lot since the break-up, pretty much everyday but I the thought hadn't crossed my mind that it might be worse than that, that maybe it was an addiction and not just a distraction. Doctor Phillips noticed how I froze at this question and smiled encouragingly at me. I shrugged uncertainly and looked up at the woman sitting in front of me.

"I guess, yeah," I murmured, so many thoughts invading my head.

"Would you say that you may have an addiction problem?" I looked up quickly when Dr. Phillips asked me this question, frowning to myself.

"No!" I exclaimed, shocked. "I can stop if I want, I'm not addicted." Dr. Phillips nodded and I continued to stare at her.

"What was it that lead your friends to ask you to talk to me?" Dr. Phillips asked, clearly trying to change the subject after my reaction.

"I'm not really myself any more," I muttered, feeling tears form in my eyes. "I don't really know who I am."

"And did your friends notice this?" She asked quietly and I nodded.

"I feel like I've lost everything," I murmured, tears rolling down my cheeks. "I'm scared I'm gonna loose them too, I don't know what I'm doing."

"Dougie," Dr. Phillips said softly, surprising me by using my first name. "If your friends care enough to get you help then you're definitely not going to loose them any time soon. But I have an idea of something that I think might help you..." I looked up at her and saw that she was now sitting on the desk, on the side that was closest to me, looking down at me. "I think that it would really help you, if you took a couple of weeks off and went into rehab for a little while." I stared at her for a moment, taking in what she'd just said. She was going to send me to rehab? Away from my friends, away from the band?

"No," I said quietly, looking up at her. I stood up from my seat and backed away from her slowly, tears rolling down my cheeks again. I pointed my finger at her and backed away in defence, as if I thought she was going to try and take me away that very second. "No! I'm not going there!" I was shouting now, my voice thick and sobs erupting from my chest. "You can't make me! I don't need to. I'm not addicted to anything." Dr. Phillips stood up, from where she was sitting on the desk, and shook her head at me, looking at me cautiously.

"I'm not suggesting that you are Dougie," She said. "I just think that getting some rest and getting away from everything for a little while would do you some good. They have psychiatrists and meetings there that could really help you." I was shaking my head before she'd even finished her sentence.

"I can't do that," I said, my voice quivering. Her words were terrifying me, I thought I'd been scared this morning. "No! No, I don't need to."

"Dougie," Dr. Phillips said, calmly. "You said that you're not you any more. Wouldn't you like to get back to being you?" I nodded desperately, tears rolling down my cheeks. "Then you've got to let your friends and I help you." I looked at her, terrified. I wanted help, I really did. I wanted to be able to be me again and not feel the way I did but what she was suggesting seemed scary and drastic. She waited for my response, watching me carefully. I nodded slowly, not really knowing what to say or do.

"Okay," Dr. Phillips said softly. "Would you like to end it there?" I looked up to see that Dr. Phillips was looking at me honestly, informing me that I could extend the meeting if I wanted to, it was up to me.

"Yeah." I murmured. I didn't really want to stay in that room any longer. I wanted to go outside and think and talk to Tom and Harry.

"Okay," The doctor said, smiling at me. "I'll give you a phone call soon, to make sure that everything's going okay, is that alright?" I nodded and walked hesitantly towards the door, wanting to get out of the room quickly and back with Tom, Gi and Harry. Dr. Phillips held out her hand, as she has done when I entered the room. She smiled at me as I shook her hand, trying my best to smile back but finding it very hard. My head felt thick again, too full of thoughts. It felt like it had done when Frankie and I had broken up, so many thoughts whizzing around my head. I walked out of the room slowly, focusing on making my legs move. I saw Tom, Harry and Gi stand up as I went back into the waiting room. I didn't say anything as I approached them I just looked up at Tom. He frowned at me.

"Can we go home?" I asked quietly. Tom looked at me for a moment before nodding and taking Gi's hand. Harry smiled reassuringly at me as Tom and Gi started to walk out of the small building. I tried to smile back as I followed Tom out of the door and towards his car.

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><p><strong>AN: So I hope that you enjoyed it! :D  
><strong>

**I tried my best to make this chapter as good as I could so I hope it's not a disapointment!  
>Please let me know what you thought! :D<br>**

**Thanks for reading and REVIEW PLEASE!  
><strong>

**Kate xxx  
><strong>


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: I would just like to start by apologizing for how long it's been, I was on holiday but I did manage to write this while I was there. I feel like the last chapter that I wrote was quite eventful and it felt, to me, like that was a main point that the story had been building up to and I ended up being pretty happy with it but I'm afraid that this chapter is pretty crap so I'm very sorry! I didn't really know what to put in the next chapter so this is pretty uneventful and slow. Hopefully the next chapter will be better, I will try my best! **

**Sorry!**

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><p><strong>Tom's POV:<strong>  
>I sat in my car, driving Dougie, Gi, Harry and I back home. Dougie hadn't said a word since we'd got into the car so none of us had any idea how the appointment had gone. My guess was not well, he would have been talking to us otherwise. Gi was sitting next to me in the passenger seat and Dougie and Harry were both sitting in the back but neither of them had said a word. Gi kept shooting me worried looks every so often and I tried my best to reassure her by taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. I wasn't sure whether I should break the silence or if it was better this way. Surely Doug would talk to us when he wanted to. I sighed in relief when my phone ringing broke the silence. I picked it up, from where it was on the dashboard and glanced at it quickly: Danny was ringing me. Without taking my eyes off the road, I handed Gi the phone.<p>

"Could you answer it?" I asked, handing her the phone. "I haven't got my headset." Gi nodded and took the phone out of my hand.

"Hello?" Gi asked, into the phone, after answering the call. "Oh hey Dan." She was silent for a moment, listening to Danny talk.

"Erm... Sure," She said. "He's right here, hang on a sec." Gi looked at me for a second, worriedly before leaning over her seat and holding the phone out to Dougie.

"Doug, Danny wants to talk to you," She said, smiling at him. He looked at her with wide eyes for a moment before taking the phone out of her hand and lifting it to his ear.

"Hello?" He asked quietly. I could hear the mumble of Danny talking on the other end of the phone as Doug was silent.

"Yeah," Doug said, answering a question that Danny had asked. "It was okay." I presumed that Danny had asked how the appointment went, something Gi, Harry and I had been too scared to ask.

"She was alright," Dougie murmured, then left a short silence. "Not much." It seemed to me like Danny wasn't getting much more out of Dougie than we had.

"Yeah," Dougie said. "I'll see you later. Bye." Without saying another word he handed the phone back to Gi and leaned against the car, looking out of the window. Gi sighed as she took the phone back and brushed her hair back from her face with her fingers. I looked at her quickly and I could tell that she was worried.

"So are you gonna tell us how it went or not?" Harry asked slightly harshly from the back of the car. I froze at Harry's tone, that would definitely not help the situation. Dougie did not reply for a moment.

"It was fine," I heard Doug murmur, trying to sound casual. Harry sighed and Gi and I stayed silent.

"Doug, talk to us." Harry pleaded, his voice soft this time. I heard Dougie sigh and when he did reply his voice was shaky.

"It was fine..." He repeated. "She talked through some things with me, suggested a couple of things." I could tell by his voice that he was close to crying and he wasn't telling us something, It was like he wanted to but he couldn't.

"What did she suggest?" Gi asked softly. Dougie inhaled slowly, trying to calm himself down. He murmured something but it was too quiet for us to hear.

"What?" I asked, trying my best to keep my concentration on the road.

"She said I should go to rehab," Dougie said again, just loud enough for me to hear him. His words shocked me and the car swerved slightly as I lost my concentration for a second.

"What?" Gi asked, her voice filled with disbelief. "Why?"

"Something about getting away from everything," Doug said. "Get some rest."

"What did you say?" Harry asked.

"That I wasn't going..." Neither Harry nor Dougie said anything for a moment.

"Doug..." Harry started.

"Harry I can't," Dougie said, his voice thick, sobs erupting from his chest. "I can't go to some fucking loony bin! You think it'll make me any better being surrounded by psychos?" Dougie was shouting now.

"I think it'll make you better to not have to worry about things here." Harry said sternly. I turned the car into our road, driving towards our house, trying to keep my thoughts clear until, at least, I parked the car. I pulled into our drive and turned the car off. Gi, Harry, Dougie and I all sat in silence for a moment before Harry opened the door and stormed towards the house, his fists clenched by his sides. I sighed before getting out of the car and following Harry into the house. I didn't hear any other car doors open so I presumed that both Gi and Dougie were not moving for now.

"Harry!" I called after him as I walked into the house, pulling the front door closed behind me. Harry stopped in the hall, his back to me.

"He said he wanted help," Harry murmured, his voice sad and angry at the same time. "Now that he's been given it, he's just gonna ignore it."

"He's scared, Harry," I said. "He has a right to be. This is huge."

"I know," Harry replied, his voice softer now. "He's just _got_ to stop pushing us away."

"I know, mate," I said as I walked towards Harry and rested my hand on his shoulder. "But no matter how hard he tries to push us away we have to help him, alright?" Harry nodded but still didn't turn to face me. He didn't say anything but I could tell that he was crying. Harry didn't cry very often and when he did, he didn't like it to be in front of people. I heard the front door close again and I turned around to see Gi and Doug walking into the house, Dougie's face red and his eyes were puffy, he'd clearly been crying.

"Harry..." Dougie murmured, it sounded like he wasn't sure what he was meant to say. "I don't know what to do." Harry turned to face Dougie and Gi and stood looking at Doug for a moment.

"I know," Harry said quietly. "I'm sorry for getting pissed off Doug."

"I get it." Dougie replied, shrugging. I looked over at Gi and I could tell that we both felt like we were interrupting something but leaving would cause Dougie and Harry's conversation to be interrupted.

"I just want you to get happier," Harry said and I nodded in agreement. Harry looked at me and smiled slightly. "Well all do, mate."

"I know." Dougie said, smiling slightly. He stood, looking down for a moment, thinking something through.

"I'll go." Dougie murmured, his voice uncertain. Harry, Gi and I stood in silence for a moment.

"You sure Doug?" I asked. He nodded slowly, looking at me.

"I need to." He said.

"If you're sure." Gi said, looking at Dougie with a concerned expression on her face. Dougie nodded again, looking more confident this time.

"It'll help everyone."

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><p><strong>AN: Again, sorry! **

**Anyhoo, hopefully you enjoyed it more than I did so please let me know what you thought, your reviews help me to update more frequently! Any ideas are welcome and if you want anything specific to happen let me know, that'd be great.**

**Thanks for reading and please review!  
><strong>

**Kate xxx**

**p.s sorry for the ridiculously long Authors Notes! :P xx **


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: So this took a lot of re-writes for me to think that it was at least half decent. I'm still not 100% happy with it but this chapter needed to be written before I could continue with the rest of the story, which I want to do!**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and please let me know what you think!**

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><p><strong>Harry's POV:<strong>

"Harry?" I heard Izzy's familiar voice call from downstairs. "Are you ready to go?" I was sat on mine and Izzy's bed in our room with my feet on the floor and my head in my hands. Today was the day that Dougie was heading to rehab and we were all going to see him off. I rubbed my hands over my face and sighed to myself. Today was going to be a hard day for all of us, especially Dougie. I knew he'd probably be terrified, I wasn't sure he really wanted to go at all and I didn't want him to go if he wasn't sure about it. Everything had been organised very quickly, both us and Dougie had wanted him to go into treatment as soon as possible so that he could return home as soon as possible. For the few weeks he'd be away management had said that we couldn't afford to stop working so Danny, Tom and I had to continue promotion without Doug. I was particularly wary about this. Surely being in the public eye during this time would just draw attention to Dougie's absence and make people more suspicious but we had decided that if anyone asked, Dougie was just ill. It wasn't our place to tell anyone about what was really going on. Doug would tell people when he was ready for them to know. Management had been pretty worried that Dougie's treatment would interfere with the tour but Tom and I had pushed our case, saying that it didn't matter. Dougie needed this and it didn't matter about work, if we really needed to, we could delay the tour for a few weeks.

"Harry?" Izzy called again. I lifted my head to look straight ahead of me, through my bedroom door at the plain wall of the hall.

"Coming!" I replied. I sat for another moment, thinking, and then stood up and walked down the stairs where Izzy was waiting for me. She smiled at me half-heartedly and I tried my best to smile back.

"You ready?" She asked me and I nodded in reply.

"He'll be okay honey." Izzy said to me softly and I smiled at her and took her hand.

"Yeah he will." I agreed, trying my best to think positively.

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><p>Izzy and I drove down to Dougie's house quietly. We were meeting Tom, Danny, Gi, Georgia, Sam and Jazzie there and we were all going to see him off. I wasn't particularly surprised to see that both Tom and Sam's cars were already parked outside of Dougie's house since Izzy and I were slightly late due to my difficulty in leaving. I parked the car and sat in silence for a second. I felt Izzy take my hand and she rubbed it with her thumb. I looked over at her and she smiled at me sympathetically. She somehow managed to say so much to me without physically saying a word. I smiled back and let go of her hand, getting out of the car. I slammed the door behind me and waited whilst Izzy got out. Locking the car behind me, Izzy and I headed towards Dougie's front door. I knocked loudly on the door and waited for someone to open it. After a moment, Tom opened the door and smiled at Izzy and I.<p>

"Hey guys." He said as he opened the door to let us both in. I wondered how Tom still managed to be so positive on such a horrible day, nothing ever fazed him.

"Hey," I greeted, smiling, as best I could, at Tom.

"Hi Tom," Izzy greeted from beside me. Izzy walked past Tom and through into Dougie's living room while I stayed in the hall with Tom. I could hear the sound of faint conversation coming from the living room and it was a comforting sound to hear. Tom closed the door behind me and turned to face me, leaning with his back against the door.

"You alright?" He asked cautiously, looking at me carefully. I nodded and ran my hand through my hair.

"Er, yeah. Yeah I'm fine." I replied uncertainly. Tom sighed and patted me on the back, his happy exterior dropping almost instantly.

"Don't worry mate," He said, smiling, sadly now, at me. "He's been alright this morning. He's just scared as hell but he's alright." I nodded and sighed, leaning against the wall that was behind me. Dougie had been back staying with Tom and Gi since his first appointment with his psychiatrist and had only returned home this morning, with Tom and Gi, to pack some of his belongings. Tom and Gi had stayed to help him pack, just for help but also because none of us thought it was a good thing to leave him on his own today, especially because we wouldn't be seeing him for a few weeks.

"I seriously can't believe this," I muttered, my head falling back so it hit the wall.

"I know, mate." Tom replied, sighing. "But, you know, it won't be long before everything's back to normal and it'll all be good again." I smiled slightly, hoping that Tom's words were true. In a few months everything would be back to normal and Dougie would be happy again, happier than he'd been before all of this. I saw Tom glance at his watch quickly.

"Mate, Doug's cab's gonna be here in a little while so shall we go and start getting everything ready?" He asked me and I nodded. Tom opened the door to the living room and I followed him into the room. Gi, Jazzie and Georgia were all sitting on a sofa together with Izzy sitting on the arm and Dougie, Sam and Danny were sitting on the other. I smiled when I saw that Flea, Dougie's dog was lying across his lap. Flea now lived with Jazzie in Essex but it was nice to see that she'd brought him down to say bye to Dougs. Dougie looked up as Tom and I entered the room and smiled at us both, his eyes full of fear and uncertainty. I smiled back and went over to where Izzy was sitting, grabbing her hand in silence. Gi started talking to Tom and I now noticed that Sam was talking quietly to Dougie, Danny added points in occasionally in a soothing tone. I sat in silence, not wanting to interrupt anybody's conversation.

"Doug," Tom said, standing up from where he'd been sitting, looking out of the window. "Mate, your cab's here." Dougie looked up at him, his eyes full of fear and uncertainty. He nodded slowly and stood up, Sam standing up with him. He walked over to where his bags were, by the door, without saying anything and picked them up, flinging them onto his back. He turned back to face all of us and smiled sadly.

"Erm... so bye guys." He said, smiling nervously. Tom, who was standing closest to Dougie, smiled at him and pulled him into a tight hug, hugging him like it was the last time he'd see him. It did feel that way.

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><p>Dougs hugged everyone, muttering a quiet goodbye and thank you as he did. Sam started crying as she hugged him and I could tell that Dougie was trying his best not to cry too. Jazzie got very upset as well but not quite to the extent that Sam did. It was hard for Jazzie to see Dougie in a state of such vulnerability when he had been her support system through the difficult time of their father leaving. By the time Dougie got round to me, he had already started crying quietly to himself. His cheeks were red and damp and his blue eyes were bloodshot. I didn't say anything to him, I just pulled him into my arms and held him tightly in an embrace. Dougie clinged onto me tightly and sobbed into my shoulder.<p>

"You'll be alright Doug," I murmured to him. "Everything will be fine, I promise. You'll only be gone a couple of weeks, not even enough time to miss us." Dougie pulled away from my hug to look at me. He smiled slightly, tears still rolling down his cheeks.

"Thanks Harry," He muttered, smiling. I smiled back as he turned to Izzy, who was next to me and gave her a hug.

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><p>After a few more minutes everyone had said their goodbyes and lots of tears had been shed. Dougie grabbed his other bags and headed out of the front door and into the taxi, without looking back at any of us, I don't think he could bring himself to. We all stood outside the front door of Dougies house, watching as the taxi, carrying Dougie, drove away slowly. I wrapped my arm around Izzy as the taxi disappeared around the corner, and pulled her against my chest. She had tears in her eyes and I could tell that she was just as afraid and worried as I was.<p>

"He'll be fine." I muttered to myself and Izzy as Izzy began to cry against my chest. "He'll be fine."

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><p><strong>AN: So I hope you enjoyed it!  
><strong>

**Let me know what you thought!  
><strong>

**Thanks for reading! :D  
><strong>

**Kate xxxx  
><strong>


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: So this chapter is just a quick little thing. It's not very eventful or relevant but I hope you enjoy it any way!**

**The next chapter will be Dougie in rehab but as a quick pre warning I don't know anything about rehab or programmes or anything so it probably won't be realistic!  
><strong>

**I also quickly want to state that this story is fictional and is based on factual events but most of it is imagined. I do not know why Dougie went into rehab specifically and I don't know what actually happened during this time so this is just my interpretation! Probably should have mentioned that earlier but hey-ho!  
><strong>

**So enjoy! :D**

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><p>The car was full of a horrible and unusual silence. Dan, Harry and I were heading to the ITV studio for our first morning of promotion without Dougie, ever. We had an entire day of promotion and we would be heading to various magazine photo shoots after our morning at ITV. Danny and I were sat where we always sat, in the second set of seats in the car with Harry sitting by himself behind us. Doug's absence seemed very, very obvious as the seat next to Harry, that he usually occupied remained empty. Dan was sat next to me with his earphones in and his phone in his hand, looking out of the window, mouthing lyrics to himself and Harry was silent in the back of the car. He wasn't listening to music or texting, just gazing out of the window. Tommy, who was driving the car, was silent too and the only sounds that I could hear was the hum of faint music, from Danny's headphones and the quiet music that was coming from the radio. Dougie had only gone to rehab yesterday yet his absence was already effecting all of us. I was worried about him and I could tell that the others were too. Dougs wasn't allowed his phone in rehab but he was allowed to phone someone every night. He'd phoned Sam last night and she'd called Harry, Dan and Gi and I to let us know what he'd said. He had said that it was alright there and that he'd be starting some sort of meeting programme soon. According to Sam, he hadn't been as upset as she'd expected him to be so we all hoped that this was a good sign and that he was dealing with it better than we'd all expected.<p>

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><p>After another twenty minutes of silence the car pulled into the car park of the TV studio and we all began to file out slowly. There were a few fans waiting for us outside of the building so we greeted them quickly before heading into the building, leaving no time for them to question Dougie's absence. We followed Tommy, and Fletch, who had met us at the venue, into the tall TV studio. We were welcomed by the producer of the morning show that we were appearing in a little while. He greeted us and lead us through the building, towards a dressing room where we would prepare for our performance. The performance was going to be broadcast live so we had no room to mess up, we had to perform to our best ability and true our best to get through it without Doug. We had all agreed that I should play Dougie's bass part for the song, our new single "That's The Truth" and Danny would have to take up guitar by himself. Dan, Harry and I were ushered into the large dressing room and Fletch turned towards us.<p>

"Right guys," He said as the producer left the room, shutting the door behind him, leaving just Danny, Harry, Fletch, Tommy and I in the room. Fletch glanced at his watch before looking back at us quickly. "You're on in forty-five minutes. I'll be back in about half an hour and then the producer will come back and get you just before your slot. That alright?" Danny, Harry and I all nodded and murmured an answer back, making Fletch smile and turn to walk out the door. Tommy smiled at us all sympathetically, not saying a word, before turning and following Fletch. I looked around the room quickly, examining it's contents for the first time. Over the years the guys and I had been in so many dressing rooms that I could not remember a single one off the top of my head. This one was very similar to many others that we'd been in before. There was a small sofa against one of the walls, a few mirrors on another wall, with chairs in front of it, and a table full of snacks in front of the sofa. It was nice enough and it felt quite homely and welcoming as dressing rooms had come to feel like second home due to the amount of time we'd ended up staying in them.

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><p>I walked over to the sofa and flopped down on it, closing my eyes and letting my head fall back over the arm of the chair. Danny sat down next to me and Harry wandered over to the armchair that was opposite me and dropped onto it. I sighed loudly, rubbing my hands over my face to try and wake myself up slightly. I was pretty tired as it had been a very early start and I had a lot of trouble sleeping last night after saying goodbye to Dougs. Obviously, as a band, we'd been apart before. We didn't spend every moment together but a day did not go by that I didn't speak to at least one of my band mates and we rarely performed without each other. On a few, isolated, occasions we had been forced to but this time it was different. It was usually just because one of us was ill, abroad or busy but this was different because we didn't really know what was happening. I mean, we knew where Dougie was but we couldn't be certain that he was okay or that he would be okay.<p>

"Tom?" Danny asked, interrupting my thoughts. I lifted my head to look at him.

"Yeah mate?" I asked in reply.

"You know your part right?" He asked, referring to Dougie's bass part. I nodded, letting my head fall back again.

"Yep." I muttered.

"This is shit." I heard Harry say from the other side of the room. "This is gonna be too weird to do this without Doug."

"I know Haz but we don't have a choice. We're just gonna have to pretend that we're enjoying ourselves. We can't give anyone any reason to think that anything's wrong." I said, looking over at Harry. He looked into my eyes and nodded.

"I know, mate." He mumbled.

"I'm sure it'll be all right," Danny said, clearly trying to be positive. "We'll be out of here in an hour and a half max." I looked up as I heard our dressing room door open to see Mell, our make up artist walking into the room. She smiled at us all as she shut the door behind her.

"Hello boys." She said, smiling. I smiled back as she walked into the room properly.

"Hey Mell." I said.

"I can tell it's gonna be a challenge to make you three look presentable this morning." She said, a sad undertone to her voice.

"Yep," I agreed. "Got anything to make us smile?" Mell laughed sadly before beckoning me over to the chair near the mirrors so that she could start trying to make me look slightly less shit.

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><p>The performance went much better than I'd expected it to. We didn't mess up but we definitely did not perform to our best. We all looked pretty lost and slightly miserable without Dougie there and, after being shown the footage by Fletch after the show, Dougie's absence had been very, very obvious. Danny, Harry and I were shoved into the car, as we had been this morning, after the show. We were all pretty exhausted all ready and I could tell that it was only going to get much worse. I got into the car and pulled my phone out of my pocket, seeing that Gi had sent me a text.<p>

_Well done on This Morning darling. You guys were great! Hope you have a decent day! xx_xxx

The text from Gi was one of the few things that had successfully managed to make me smile this morning. I continued to smile slightly as I replied to her text.

_Thanks honey. Having a shit day, doesn't feel right without Dougs! C u later. Xxx_

I hadn't noticed that the car had started moving and that were already on our way to our first interview of the morning.

"This is when the real hard work begins," I said, sighing, leaning my head back to look at Danny and Harry. "They're all gonna ask where Doug is." Harry looked at me and nodded sadly.

"Yep but he's got a cold," Danny said from beside me. "He's just got a cold." He sounded like he was trying to persuade himself that our lie was the truth. It'd be so much simpler if it was.

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><p><strong>AN: So I hope you enjoyed it and please please PLEASE let me know what you thought by reviewing, it really does mean a lot!**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing and if anyone has any ideas or things they want to happen in the next/ future chapters please let me know!  
><strong>

**Kate xxx  
><strong>


	19. Sorry

**A/N: Hey guys! So I'm very sorry, this isn't a chapter and I haven't updated this story in forever and that is for a couple of reasons!**

**1. I've been super busy with my GCSE's and Christmas and stuff  
><strong>

**2. I read Unsaid Things in October and I realised how far from the truth this story is and it made me very reluctant to keep writing it as I don't feel that I am doing Dougie's story justice at all  
><strong>

**3. I haven't been writing much at all recently due to lack of inspiration and ideas and the fact that Unsaid Things opened my eyes to a lot of things that I did not know about!  
><strong>

**I will be trying to write some more of this story soon but I may have to change parts of previous chapters so that I am following what really happened more closely but we shall see! If any of you have any ideas or ways that I could do that it would be amazingly helpful!  
><strong>

**I also have a favor to ask you all! My friends and I have entered the BOTF (Battle Of The Fans) contest on .com and we need to get into the top 25 by Tuesday so that we can meet McFly in May and if you could all vote for us that would be incredible! If you could also spread the word and get a few friends or family members to vote that would be awesome as we need to get 300 odd votes in two days so we need as much help as we can get! So PLEASE HELP US GUYS, YOU ARE ALL SO LOVELY! :D  
><strong>

**Thank you so much and please vote for us and if you have any ideas let me know!  
><strong>

**Thanks :D  
><strong>

**(And again, sorry for the lack of chapter and huge rant about everything!)  
><strong>

**Love you all,  
><strong>

**Kate xxxxxx  
><strong>


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Bit of a filler and it's not great but I hope you enjoy it and I'm sorry it's been so long! Review please!**

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><p><strong>Dougie's POV:<strong>

I opened my eyes slowly, a quiet knock awakening me from my restless yet dreamless sleep. I panicked for a moment, not recognising my surroundings but quickly remembered where I was and why. I had arrived at the clinic yesterday and had been shown around by my doctor. His name was Dr. Henson and he seemed alright. He didn't look that much older than me, which meant that he wasn't that intimidating which I was very glad of. He had dark hair and he was a bit taller than me and far more mature. There was something about him that reminded me slightly of Harry and that just made me miss my band mates even more than I already did. The clinic was not a particularly welcoming place but it was nowhere near as bad as I'd expected it to be. There were lots of patient rooms all around the building and there was a living room area, a dining room, a room that contained a piano, a few guitars and a couple of computers and lots of offices for the doctors and therapy rooms. The clinic even had a small garden which Dr. Henson had shown me briefly last night.

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><p>I had arrived at the clinic at about four o'clock and there had not been much time for me to settle in. Dr. Henson had shown me around, shown me my room and introduced me to a few of the members of staff but after that he'd let me head to my room and settle in. The doctors had said that I should hand my phone into them but I'd managed to hide it in my luggage and convince them that I didn't have it on me. It made me feel better about the scenario, slightly more positive. It meant that I had some form of contact to the boys and my family and that was what I really needed, they're support and help. I just needed them and if lying to the doctors meant that I got my friends and family, it was worth it. I was meant to have no contact with anyone outside of the clinic as to keep my mind focused on my treatment and off of worries that I had at home but I couldn't cope with being through this on my own- I'd never been good on my own. I had decided to phone my mum almost as soon as I arrived as she had been the most worried about me out of everyone. I told her that I was okay and that the clinic was much better than I'd expected it to be- trying to reassure her and calm her so that she wouldn't worry as much. She seemed very happy about how I was doing so far and she said that she would let the guys know that I was alright.<p>

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><p>"Dougie, breakfast will be served in half an hour." A kind, women's voice said from the other side of my door. I wasn't familiar with the voice and I wasn't sure whether I was meant to reply or not. It was strange being surrounded by people that I didn't know and who didn't know me yet where, from what I'd experienced so far, all very welcoming and kind.<p>

"Erm, thanks." I replied, loud enough so that the women on the other side of the door could hear me. My voice was thick from sleep and I sat up in my small bed and rubbed my eyes, looking around my room. It was a decent size and the walls were quite plain. My small, single bed was in the middle of the room, set against the largest wall of the room. A wooden wardrobe against the opposite wall and a bedside table was sat next to my bed. Last night I had dumped by bag on the small chair that was in front of the tiny desk that was next to the wardrobe.

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><p>I got up out of my bed, adjusting my t-shirt that I'd slept in, with boxers, and decided that I should probably get dressed if breakfast was, in fact, in half an hour. My brain was foggy and I felt like I was running on auto-pilot. I stretched my legs slightly so that they felt less stiff and walked across the room to where my bag lay. I grabbed my bag and dumped it on my bed, opening it quickly and grabbing a few things out of it. I pulled out a pair of jeans, the first t-shirt I saw, some clean underwear and my lyric book- I'd look at it later. I got changed quickly, not having a shower because I was too nervous to find a member of staff and ask them where the bathroom was- I'd ask about that later. I pulled on my old Hurley hoodie over my t-shirt and ran my fingers through my hair, successfully managing to neaten it up. If Mell was here she'd grin and congratulate me on finally managing to get my hair to do what I wanted. I chuckled to myself at the thought, looking at my watch to see that it was just past 10am. I wondered what the guys were doing now, they'd probably still be in bed or something. I sighed to myself, realising just how much I missed the guys already and headed towards where I remembered the dining room to be, for breakfast.<p>

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><p>Breakfast was a rather surreal experience. The large dining room was full of other patients, who were all sitting together, some talking to each other and some sitting in absolute silence. It was a very terrifying and intimidating experience to walk into the room and not know who any of these people were. I half expected to turn and see Harry, Danny and Tom standing behind me but sadly I did not. I felt like the new kid at school as I grabbed a banana and sat down by myself in a corner. I looked around the room quickly and it was rather obvious to me that most of these patients had much bigger and more severe problems than I did and that in itself made me feel quite uncomfortable.<p>

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><p>I ate my makeshift breakfast quickly by myself before getting up to leave and head back to my room but before I could I heard the one familiar voice in this entire place call my name.<p>

"Dougie?" I turned to see Dr. Henson walking towards me, smiling. I sighed quietly, not really wanting to talk to him but smiled back as best I could.

"How are you settling in?" Dr. Henson asked pleasantly as he came over to me. I shrugged.

"Okay, I guess," I replied.

"I was thinking that, if it's okay with you, we could start your actual treatment today, just with a chat in my office later on so we can sort out what kind of treatment we can proceed with?" I nodded in reply.

"Sure," I murmured. "That sounds fine." Dr. Henson smiled at me and gave me a look that told me that I could leave now. I turned and walked back down the corridor towards my small room.

"Come in." Dr. Young called after I knocked on his office door quietly. An young female employee came to my room two hours after breakfast and told me that I had a session with Dr. Henson planned and she took me to his office to see him. I walked into Dr. Henson's small office to see him sitting at his desk, his modern computer in front of him. Dr. Henson looked up from his computer and smiled at me.

"Hello Dougie." He greeted me and I smiled at him slightly. "Take a seat." He gestured to the seat that was on the other side of his desk and I sat down in it. His office reminded me a lot of Dr. Phillips' and that made me feel slightly uneasy. I couldn't believe that it had only been a week since I had last been in her office, so much had happened since then that it seemed like an entire lifetime ago. Dr. Henson smiled at me but his smile didn't make me feel any less nervous about talking to him.

"So... first of all, I want to try and determine which treatment methods will be best for you personally. Does that sound okay?" I nodded in response and Dr. Henson smiled at me. "Okay. Good. Where do you want to start?"

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><p><span><strong>AN: I hope you liked it! Let me know what you thought. I shall try and update much sooner this time! xxx**


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